Pokemon: Shadow of Time - Kanto Arc
by Ron the True Fan
Summary: A changed world. A more violent world. Ash Ketchum was enjoying Alola until the world came to an end. Sent back to the beginning, everything has changed...Ash can't just become a Pokemon Master. He has to save the world from the madman that ended it. Ash/Harem (slowburn)
1. Prologue: The End of The World

**Ron the True Fan: Disclaimers are pointless. Now I said it a few times to reviewers: I was not entirely happy with the prologue. It served its' purpose. Now that _SOT's _finished, which you'll see in about, oh, ten chapters or so, we're going back to the past… to rewrite the prologue that sucked-(WHACK!)**

**Takeshi Yamato: Just get to it, Ron!**

**Thor: (Mjolnir returns to hand and he starts spinning it again, ready to release again)**

* * *

_Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice or lightning, lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash. _

_Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, lest the earth shall turn to Ash. O Chosen One, into thine hands bring together all three. _

_Their treasures combined tame the Beast of the Sea._

_The Prophecy of Shamouti Island did not just refer to the Legendary Birds, but the Creation Trio of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina. Cyrus Akagi of Team Galactic has destroyed the balance. Now the consequences of his folly will be seen by all… but most of all, by Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town._

* * *

**Pokemon School - Melemele Island - 1314 hours local time - Year 7, day 63 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

Ash Ketchum sighed. Professor Kukui was great and all… but he knew the type chart backwards, forwards and _upside down_.

He might not look it, but he had been competing in leagues since before these kids could properly toss a Pokeball. And he was _bored_.

'_Better bored then confronting another evil team._' Ash thought to himself as Kukui pointed at a gray rectangle on the chart.

"Now, we know about the Steel-type's weakness to fire, but can anyone tell me what its' strengths are?" the professor/teacher asked his class, Lillie raising her hand. "Yes, Lillie?"

The rich girl stood up, raising a hand. "The steel-type is known for its great defense, being most effective against ice and rock-types." she said, her Alolan Vulpix Snowy mewling at being told he was weak to steel. Thankfully, his trainer noticed. "I'm sorry, Snowy…"

"Correct!" Kukui said, Pikachu just giving Ash a look that said 'can we PLEASE leave?' Ash could _not_ blame him.

_He_ didn't like sitting still: his idea of a lazy day was running around and training his Pokemon. It was half the reason he didn't settle down with any of his companions.

Misty… Oh, _Misty_. Ash wasn't dumb. It took him a while to notice these things, but he wasn't dumb. Misty's mermaid water show was basically her confessing to him.

But after Latios died… he was pretty sure it was Latias who pecked him on the cheek the day he left Altomere. And he didn't feel he deserved it. Deserved… love.

Which was half the reason he went to Hoenn alone. The other half being his father just leaving and not coming back. He figured he could handle going alone. Cue running into May. He gladly tutored her until she could become a good trainer, accepting and even encouraging her career as a coordinator.

He noticed her falling for him right around the time he beat her father for the Balance Badge. It was pretty much solidified when they went to Kanto and he nearly drowned saving Samiya from sinking. He was happy to see her follow her dream, away from him, going to Johto while he went to Sinnoh.

Sinnoh… he had no fond memories of that place. Sure, Dawn was a nice enough girl (and after accidentally peeking at her diary and seeing 'Mrs Dawn Ketchum' in there after Lake Acuity, he actually considered abandoning Sinnoh and going home for a bit, but he had a League to compete in) but that was the only good thing.

Paul was an ass, Ash would not deny that. It took him beating the crap out of Paul at the League for him to soften up even slightly. Humiliation at a public venue, it seemed, was the only solution. And then there was Cyrus.

Arceus, he _hated _Cyrus. He wanted to 'remake reality', whatever that meant. Ash wasn't an expert. He just hoped Cyrus got what he deserved for hurting the Lake Trio.

And then there was Tobias. Which was _bullshit_. He learned his lesson at Shamouti: _never_ catch a legendary. It's a bad idea in the end. Yet Tobias went and got at least two, the Latios _especially_ mocking him for his failure to stop Annie and Oakly at Altomare.

"Togedemaru's perfect against poison-types!" said Sophocles, drawing Ash out of his thoughts. He must've spaced out thinking.

Really, he joined this school because he thought it would be all _practical_ learning. The _theory_ was nice and all, but once you're out of the class, you _need_ to think on your feet.

Which he somehow _forgot_ in Unova. He didn't even _know_ what happened to him when he started that journey. Zekrom zapping him in the head, leftover Tobias funk, something that was actually, _literally_, in the air?

He didn't know. He didn't care: he didn't like what happened there. And that made his meeting Iris worse. She was a lot like Misty, but for dragons and… wilder. He REALLY got sick and tired of her 'kid' comments, especially when she was a year YOUNGER then he was.

Of course, he befriended her - and by Mistralton, she had a not-so-well-hidden crush on him, making him question HOW this kept happening - and she lightened up. Somewhat. She was more of a… tsundere? Was that accurate? Ash didn't care as Kiawe answered a question about dragon-types.

Of course, that ended with him losing at the League (what was WRONG with him in Unova? It was like someone had it against him there) he had to deal with Team Plasma AND Giovanni. He had to put the pieces together that he was the Viridian City Gym Leader after that second time with Mewtwo. You don't get a badge from Team Rocket unless their boss WAS the leader.

Then Kalos happened. He wanted to go back and tell himself NOT to go there. Alexia got him to meet Serena again. And he had to lie a LOT to her. He remembered all too well who she was.

His first crush. Then again, she had that _adorable_ accent-

'_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!_' Ash mentally screamed, trying to not break his vow to not go after her.

He had to thank that guitarist nut. Greninja was demanding he 'mate' with her once the Battle Bond was solidified. Often. And that time he got sick, he nearly gave into that demand. THAT would have been awkward.

After the Kalos League (Alain's Mega Evolution thing was bullshit. He didn't rely on gimmicks to win, the Ash-Greninja thing being something they couldn't exactly control from happening) and dealing with Team Flare (he REALLY hoped Lysandre was dead. Son of a bitch deserved it) he was ready to go home. Then Serena kissed him.

His first actual kiss. He wanted nothing more then to go with her to Hoenn right then and there. But his self-control was stronger then his lust and she left while he just stood there, dumbfounded.

After that, he went home. Then Mimey won the contest to go to Alola. Which brought him to now.

At least he was confident that none of the girls here would fall for him. Mallow and Lana were 13, Lillie was 12. He was _17_, even if he didn't look it. He'd love to be nothing more then their big brother figure. A crush they'd grow out of, he could live with.

He glanced at Torracat as he lounged in the sun. He should really thank Professor Kukui later.

Again, Ash wasn't an idiot. He learned a long time ago how to figure out disguises. Actually, he figured it out in Celadon thanks to Jessie and James. (He HATED crossdressing and that time Cilan dressed up as Elesa, he wanted to SCREAM) Most of the time, he figured out where Team Rocket was, he just waited for them to pull their nonsense, hoping THIS time, they'd go 'we give up! Want to be friends?'. He could hope they'd resign from the Team and become actual trainers.

So, yes, he knew Professor Kukui was the Masked Royale. Kinda hard not to figure it out with that skin and the voice, not to mention the height, physique… yeah. It was easy to figure out.

He just played stupid for the sake of the kids. He didn't want to ruin their fun. He wasn't Paul. He was pretty sure Paul had no idea how to HAVE fun.

Unfortunately, their fun was going to be ruined by another source.

A flash of light was followed by a green missile smashing into the railing, smashing it before barreling through Lillie's desk, finally smacking into the blackboard.

"Lillie, are you ok?!" Sophocles asked as Mallow checked on the girl, finding her forehead and left leg cut by the desk's metal parts, blood freely flowing onto the ground.

Ash paid less attention to Lillie, knowing they would make sure she was ok and focused on what caused her injury.

It was very familiar, with a green body, pixie wings, an onion-shaped head-

"Oh, _hell_." Ash muttered, loudly enough that he got the attention of his classmates, who double-taked at Ash actually cursing.

He tried not to most of the time, but this warranted it, even as Rotom Dex hovered towards the Time Travel Pokemon to identify it.

Ash, having run into Celebi four times now - once in the Ilex forest, once in Kanto when he was with May and once in Sinnoh, specifically in Crown City - was less interested in seeing Celebi and knowing _why_ the Mythical Pokemon was even here to _begin_ with. Mainly because EVERY TIME one showed up, everything went to hell in a handbasket in a matter of minutes.

And with the exception of dealing with the occasional Ultra Beast, he was expecting a vacation from this shit.

"This is a Pokemon that isn't native to Alola!" Rotom Dex said, Ash rolling his eyes. '_No shit_.' he mentally snarked as Rotom scanned the Pokemon in question.

"Celebi, the Time Travel Pokemon: This Pokémon wanders across time. Grass and trees flourish in the forests in which it has appeared." Rotom said before suddenly going INSANE. "LEGENDARY! NOT ONLY LEGENDARY, MYTHICAL! THIS IS A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EVENT!"

Ash snorted. "Then I'm lucky, seeing as I've met Celebi three times before." he snarked, getting the attention of all of the students and Rotom Dex.

"Nonsense!" the possessed machine said. "If you had met-" Ash then pulled out one of his older Pokedex models: the Unovan one, actually. Professor Oak spent months fixing it after Torterra stepped on it and he picked it up when they went to Kanto, as Ash wanted to look at the entries he had without making the Rotom freak out like he was now..

"What?! I thought I was your first Pokedex!" screamed the indignant machine.

"I'm from Kanto, Rotom Dex: we don't start out at 14 like you do in Alola." Ash explained. "We start at TEN."

"Oh, right." Lana said in mild understanding. "That explains why Misty looked so young for a gym leader..."

Lillie blinked away her pain, focusing on Ash. "I… saw you on the news…" she slurred. "At...Greenfield?"

Ash didn't want to discuss it.

Meanwhile, Pikachu was explaining everything to Rowlet, Torracat and Lycanroc, the rock-type especially fearful of the legendary grass-type. Rowlet was extremely excited.

Mallow looked at the Pokedex in question. "That's from Unova. When did you go to Unova?" she asked.

"Two years ago." Ash said, even as Rotom went insane from seeing all the entries on Legendaries, including Arceus. "What I'm more interested in right now is…" he looked at Celebi. "What are YOU doing here?"

The onion-headed Pokemon groaned as she awoke, rubbing her head. "Bii…" '_I hate my job sometimes._' she said, Ash showing mild surprise when he heard her in his mind. "Bi?" '_Ash? Oh, thank Arceus, I'm not too late._'

This was not good. Celebi was looking for him.

"She talks?!" Kiawe demanded, Ash giving him an unamused look over his shoulder.

"_All_ Pokemon talk. We just can't _understand_ them most of the time." he said before looking at Celebi. "Do I _want_ to know why you're here?"

"Celebi…" '_You're about to figure it out._' Celebi said before the ground began to shake and everything started to just feel… wrong.

"…what the hell was that?" Kiawe asked, blanching a bit. "I… I don't feel… _right_…"

"Cele." '_Cyrus happened._' Celebi said as the skies started turning unnatural colors of purple, gold and teal, the ground continuing to shake.

"Cyrus?!" Ash demanded. "I thought he died!"

Celebi's usually bell-like laugh sounded harsh and mirthless. "Bi." '_He _did_. But he had control of Dialga and Palkia until he finally lost his mind and killed himself._' Celebi said as lightning struck the ocean, literally unmaking the water.

"That… can't be good." Sophocles said before Mallow began vomiting up what looked like black blood, coughing before beginning to puke up more.

"Bi." '_We're all dead,_' Celebi answered. "Celebi." '_Without a controlling presence, Dialga and Palkia went berserk and killed Giratina. Arceus is doing what he can to keep the universe from completely collapsing, but even the Creator knows there's no saving it._' the Time Travel Pokemon said before Lana's hand started randomly twitching, the nails starting to peel off her hand of their own accord.

"There's got to be something we can do!" Ash said, ignoring any odd feelings he had and focusing on Celebi.

Kukui held his head as blood poured out of his ears, screaming as he fell on the floor.

"Bi!" '_I have to send you back to the start!_' Celebi said, even as Kiawe and Sophocles collapsed, the former crying literal tears of blood.

"You honestly think going back in time's going to solve this?!" Ash asked as the Pokemon started showing signs of injury, Snowy's fur starting to turn a deep red as blood oozed out of his pores and Togedemaru's metal spines beginning to rust and fall off.

"Celebi!" '_Do we have a choice?! They're dying! And you'll be next if we don't get a move on!_' the onion-headed Pokemon said before Mallow looked up, her eyes starting to turn green before they completely turned black.

"Ash…" Mallow said, before screaming in pain and terror. That made up Ash's mind.

"I can't do this alone." he said, almost pathetically before he felt blood leak from his nose.

'_You will not be alone._' came a voice Ash...knew? It sounded familiar. Very...

"Azelf?" he asked, getting a feeling of confirmation. It had been a long time since he'd seen them.

'_My sisters and I will send back the minds of your Pokemon. They cannot physically go with you._' the Willpower Pokemon explained, even as Professor Kukui had a puddle of blood form under him, the older man hacking and coughing as he laid on the floor. '_You will need them._'

Ash coughed, flecks of blood escaping his mouth as he felt his head seemingly shrink, being ten times too small for his brain.

"Bi!" '_We need to go NOW!_' Celebi said, Pikachu bounding towards him before a psionic bubble formed around the two, the Electric Mouse bonking off the shield. "Celebi!" '_The second YOU start showing signs of degradation, we're out of time!_'

Ash held his head, groaning before Celebi started moving them forward. "Pika… chu…" he moaned.

"Celebi." '_You'll see him again,_' she said before propelling them forward, trying to find a stable place to send them back in time. After a moment, she growled. "Bi." '_Fine. Going to have to do this the hard way._'

Ash looked at Celebi in confusion. "The… hard way?" he asked, even as he saw parts of the island start floating into the air.

"Bi." '_You've been to Unova._' the Time Travel Pokemon said before smirking. "Celebri." '_And I've always wanted to say this… but when this bubble hits eighty-eight miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit._'

Then the bubble shot forward, Ash's eyes being forced to stay open as they shot through whatever reality was now. It was beyond real description, with unnatural reds, golds, blues and purples making patterns Ash couldn't put into words as Celebi shot them through time, Ash screaming as he couldn't close his eyes.

A sort of ringed tunnel formed before they entered it, winding in twists, turns and loops before Ash finally blacked out from the mental strain.

His nightmare had only just begun.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: And you all wonder why this has a 'horror' tag. Last time, it was just quick, simple, to get the ball rolling and spare you the real horrors of reality unmaking itself. Now? Well, how does the FUCKING EYE OF TERROR sound?!**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeesh. And yes, we still did the Back to the Future ref. It's fun.**

**117Jorn: …didn't do all that much in the remade Prologue tbh - not a fan of legit psychological horror. **

**Ron the True Fan: And besides, the best horror is IMPLIED horror. Which no one seems to GET nowadays. Then there's the unofficial **_**40K **_**prequel. (Jorn: **_**Event Horizon's**_ **not a **_**40K **_**prequel, Ron! Ron: Everyone else seems to disagree with you!)**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, honestly, Zombie Horror is way too overdone.**

**Ron the True Fan: ...Neither of you have actually WATCHED _Event Horizon_, have you? Enjoy the fic.**

**Ja Ne!**


	2. Chapter 1: Changed World

**Ron the True Fan: And welcome back, readers. Know that at the time of the beginning of this writing is the day and year of May 19th, 2018. (Whack!) Alright, I'll stop with the whole **_**Dune **_**thing. Welcome to the first actual chapter of the fic. The clock has been turned back, Ash is Back Through Time (Whack!) and is unprepared for the changes in the timeline. Now, unlike **_**PRB**_**, Celebi didn't know the timeline would go screwy, assuming it would be like **_**AotP**_**. She won't even know until the Arrival. (Whack!) and neither will Ash.**

* * *

Pallet Town, Kanto Region - 16 hours before Ash's Pokemon Journey

* * *

Dreams are but the domain of the sleeper. But dreams are also the domain of nightmares. A fact Ash knew all too well as he jumped out of bed, panting and sweating. He looked around nervously, finding himself in an unfamiliar location. Well, not so unfamiliar, just that he didn't spend much time there: his bedroom, back in Pallet Town in Kanto. It even had that Voltorb clock of his that he broke in his excitement all those years ago, resulting in him waking up late and… meeting Pikachu.

Maybe he could just tell Professor Oak about it: took him a bit to connect the dots, but Sammy was a young Samuel Oak. If he just told him about that little… _incident_, maybe he could walk away with Pikachu. Or he would just hide the starters to begin with so Ash wouldn't have a choice in the matter. Ash held his head, groaning: he was overthinking this. Off the battlefield, he wasn't great at the thinking thing. He went with his gut with a bit of actual strategy most of the time. His train of thought came to an end with a brief flash and a thud as a familiar pixie appeared. "_That… hurt._" she said.

Ash blinked. Did… Celebi just speak human? "Did you… just speak in the human language?" Celebi looked at Ash and shook her head before speaking up. "_A side-effect of having every single one of your Pokemon's minds in your head before they left._" she said, her mouth's movement not matching the sounds. "_You can understand what we're saying now._" While that was awesome in more ways than one, Ash struggled to separate the words before groaning in pain as his head seemed to have an axe shoved into it, then the axehead was twisted to one-side. A mild pleasant feeling encompassed him as Celebi tapped his forehead. "Bi." '_Feeling better?_' Ash nodded as there was a knock at the door.

Now, it is understandable that Celebi would cause no small amount of chaos if Ash's mother saw her. It is just as understandable that Ash needed to hide the pixie. That being said, Celebi wasn't happy with being stuffed under the young man's pillow and promptly glared at Ash while remaining silent as Ash straightened himself out and went to the door, opening it gently. But he was disappointed to find that it wasn't his mother at the door and it wasn't his bastard father, either. He was never there to begin with.

Instead, it was a young girl about seven years old, holding what looked like a Snivy plushy with a lime green onesie that had a similar theme, only with more cartoony-looking grass-type starters, like Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko and, much to Ash's surprise, Rowlet, with long blonde hair and brown eyes. She looked… like him, if he was a girl, a blonde and younger. She rubbed her eyes as she looked at him with tired eyes. "Did you have a nightmare, big brother?" Ash tried not to react in surprise and horror. He was an only child. He didn't have any siblings. Pain welled up in his forehead as memories forced themselves up. The timeline had changed. He had a serious headache from everything trying to settle down and it showed as he remembered who this girl was. His younger sister: Yellow Ketchum. He adored her, taught her how to deal with Pokemon, basically acting like the father they never had.

He had a sister. Pain stabbed him again, as if to correct him. Which it did: he had two sisters. And a younger brother that was a bit older then Yellow. This was so strange. "I heard you scream, big brother. Did you have a nightmare again?" she asked. Ash didn't want to lie. But then again, watching the end of the world, the universe itself, collapse into nothingness as everyone and thing died as he was sent back in time… If _that _wasn't a nightmare, what _was_? So it was not a lie. Not really. So he nodded. "Yeah. It was a really bad one." Yellow reached out for him, giving him a hug.

Another foreign feeling. He hadn't had any family other then his mother before give him a hug. In fact… he didn't _have _any family last time. No uncles, no aunts… no one. Ash wrapped his arms around Yellow, almost in a way that Bewear would with the Team Rocket Trio. A group he was not going to take it easy on this time. But he let his sister go, looking her in the eye. "I'll be ok, Yellow." he said, trying not to cry. "You better, big brother." she said, holding her adorable little Snivy plushy to her chest. "You got an early day tomorrow."

Yes. Yes, he did. Meeting Pikachu again, beginning his journey and saving the world from an emotionless omnicidal maniac. But he knew one thing as he went back into his room, Yellow going back to her own bedroom: just stopping him once and locking him up wasn't going to stop him. Ash could understand, bizarrely. If being beaten by Brock the first time around didn't stop him, Cyrus was not going to stop trying. He would keep trying and trying and trying until either he succeeded or actually died. A thought Ash did not like. Cyrus could change for the better, he was sure of it. But Cyrus would not stop, not because of him, Cynthia, Arceus or anyone. He would destroy the universe and remake it in his image or simply leave it to burn to ashes around him.

But Ash had other problems. "Bi! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiii!" '_You shoved me under your pillow! What were you trying to do, kill me?!_' Ash turned to Celebi, anger rising in him for some reason, something he wasn't familiar with. "I'm sorry, do you want everyone to know you're here, Celebi?!" he yelled at the time travelling Pokemon as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake anyone in the house while making his seemingly unfounded anger and rage. "'Oh, look, everyone, it's the mythical Pokemon Celebi, let's tell everyone where she is, so everyone under the sun can storm the town in trying to grab her! In the meantime, we can destroy the town while we're at it'!" he practically spat at her. Then he paused in horror. This… this wasn't him. He didn't get angry like this. Something was wrong with him.

"I… I'm so sorry." Ash said, hanging his head. "I… I don't get angry like that. What's happened to me?" Celebi flew out of the bed covers, all annoyance gone. "Brrrrrrrii…" '_It's fine, I know you really don't mean it._' she said in understanding. '_I think your other self is still in there…_' Ash blinked as he looked at his body. While a bit more muscular, it was… just like he was in Sinnoh. He was 14 again? But… he started out at ten. That didn't make sense. "What do you mean, 'other self'?" he asked Celebi in confusion. "Bi, bi, celebrrrrrrrrrrri." '_I didn't have time to displace the mind in that body. They're occupying the same body._' she explained. '_Yours is more experienced, so yours is dominant, but over time, the two will merge. You won't really notice: less headaches and confusion, mostly and you'll be able to look into your other self's memories without a problem._'

Oh, that was just going to open up a _whole _new can of worms he _didn't _want to think about. A topic that was averted by Celebi's stomach rumbling. "Biiii…" '_Uh… mind getting me something to eat, please?_' she asked sheepishly. Ash looked at her with a quirked, almost Vulcan-esque raised eyebrow. "Seriously?" he asked. "Bi, brrrrri." '_Even legendaries need to consume food. Even legendaries like Zekrom and Reshiram, who can subside on the emotions of humans, need to eat eventually._' she explained. "Bi!" '_Besides, isn't your mother the amazing cook?_' Ash could not argue with that. And he couldn't stay here: he had to see Pikachu. He had to see his starter. Other then that debacle at the Tree of Beginning with that damnedable Mew that took his brother in all but species and blood away, they were never apart. Oh, he and Mew were going to have _WORDS _the next time they met…

So Ash snuck out of his room, half-remembering that his mother was a light sleeper and so was Yellow. Celebi hovered just a few feet behind, following Ash down the stairs, where a bag sat on the table. Ash tried not to smile at his mother's thoughtfulness before they dove into the refrigerator, Ash noticing that it was… mostly metal. Actually, it was ENTIRELY made of metal, with wood in some places so the metal wouldn't stick. There was a lot he needed to learn about his new life as he took out a Cinnabar Volcano Burger, something his mom made on rare occasions back… in the other past… but made more often here. He didn't offer it to Celebi because he thought she wouldn't want it, but she took one anyways. "Biii, cel." '_I might not look like it—_' she said before starting to eat the burger. '_But I'm just as much an omnivore as humans are. Besides, grass-types are the ultimate carnivores in the end because we reclaim the dead._'

Ash tried not to react to that. Celebi noticed. "Biiiiii." '_Relax, kid, it's not like we seek out things and kill them arbitrarily._' she said, chewing on the spicy food. "Bi, bi." '_It's only after they've been gone for a while. We're just as sentient as humans, but you have… a spark we lack. It's why we often seek humans out._' "But legendaries are too important to just be caught." Ash said as he remembered the past events of his life. "The Shamouti birds, Lugia, Latios, the Lake and the Creation Trios… look what happened, especially after you were captured by that… that…" His hands nearly balled up, a sign of further anger before Celebi put a hand on his shoulder. "Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii." '_It's alright._' she assured him. '_You stopped him. You'll always stop him._' Ash tried to take comfort in that as he smiled weakly at Celebi. This had to stop now: they had to get to Pikachu.

Ash bit into the burger before picking up his bag and putting it on his back, noticing a canvas tent bag before grabbing it and walking out the door before closing it. He wouldn't be coming back for a good long while, at least until before the League and before Professor Oak sent him on that pointless errand through the Orange Islands for that Arceus-damned GS Ball. Sure, he won, but no one gave a damn about the Orange League and who could blame them: four gyms with three of them as almost pure sports challenges and no Elite Four. It was good training and nothing more. The only thing that really mattered was Shamouti. Which denied him a chance to reunite with… an old friend. Damn Lawrence the Third to hell.

* * *

Oak Laboratory - 0114 hours local time

* * *

Samuel Oak knew many Pokemon in his lifetime. From the quiet Bulbasaurs to the bombastic Squirtles and the varying personalities of them all. But out of every single one… this one he knew all too well. And it was trying to kill him. Not figuratively with a nice sharp-low amperage zapping but a Zekrom-level 'you DIE' attack. The Pikachu had darker than usual eyes and far too much power for a second-tier evolved Pokemon. The answers for this were… rather simple, if cruel, sadly.

The yellow murderous rodent was a Shadow Pokemon.

70 years ago, Orre's monsters and their infection had torn through every single civilized region, tore apart the unified regions of Kanto, Sinnoh, Hoenn and Sinnoh, left Unova in ruins and Kalos was in chaos for almost 30 years thanks to Team Cipher's 'wonder weapons'. Even the Ranger Union regions were torn apart as… to be blunt, Shadow Pokemon did not react well to friendship stylers. Those that tried to befriend them died the most brutal death imaginable. He was a young man back then, only surviving through luck and a massive amount of… well, the doctor called it 'healing juices', which may have unnaturally extended his life.

Which didn't help Oak in any way as Pikachu tried to kill him right now. "Kazam!" The yellow lightning murder ball was struck with a Confusion wave, knocking Pikachu down before Oak finally stormed the little thing, his bones protesting the entire time before hitting Pikachu with a pokeball with a lightning bolt on it, making it as the electric-biased Zap Ball, which was… well, the only REAL option he had: he couldn't trust normal Pokeballs to hold the speedy little mouse.

Thankfully, it clicked with a successful capture. "That was too close." Oak said aloud to himself as he placed the ball down before planting himself on a couch. "How did Ash get this thing to act like a normal Pikachu?" the 87 year-old wondered as Alakazam sighed and ate a few berries. At any rate, Ash could not go out there with a shadow Pokemon, even if it was his starter as he remembered Ash saying back in the Ilex Forest in Johto all those years ago.

Either Ash was the Chosen of Arceus and a true Pokemon master or he was lying. Samuel seriously doubted that Ash could lie worth a damn and he would know if Ash was the Chosen One. But Ash would not go out with that Pikachu. Not alone.

* * *

Outside the Oak Ranch - 0123 hours local time

* * *

Ash looked at the contents of his bag. The usual equipment was in there, to be sure: potions, medical supplies, even a massive number of herbs. But even the herbs didn't confuse Ash. No, it was the other equipment that was giving him problems.

Because sitting in his backpack were two guns. One of them looked a bit like that rifle that Ranger Jenny used back in the Safari Zone with the Tauros herd and that gun nut Kaiser, only bigger while the other looked similar in size to Kaiser's handgun, though he was pretty sure that was called a revolver. This… wasn't a revolver. It took bullets from a detachable magazine in the grip and was… well, not professionally made as the warden's gun, as the finish was as rough as the skin of an Onix. But that didn't worry Ash. Not at all, as crudely finished as it was it still worked flawlessly as he worked the action after taking out the magazine.

No, it was the fact that it had his name crudely engraved on the slide and frame of the handgun. "This is all kinds of 'wrong'." Ash said aloud as he looked at the weapon. He made this thing? Why would he make this thing? He hadn't had a single good experience with guns since his first journey through Kanto. So why in the name of the Creation Dragons did he even have one?! "Biii." '_This isn't a good sign._' Celebi stated as she looked at the weapon in Ash's hands. "Biiiiii, brrrri." '_Even as dangerous as our world could be, it never warranted anyone carrying a gun outside of town before. Something is dangerously wrong with this timeline._'

A sentiment Ash agreed with. Why his backpack carrying two guns and what looked like parts for the rifle was a question he needed answering. Still, throwing them away was a bad idea if this world was more dangerous than last time. He just wouldn't use them if he could avoid it, sticking to the old standbys of letting Pikachu zap Team Rocket's machines to death and all that as he threw them back into the backpack. Ash heard that it was called the condom rule: better to have it and never need it then the other way around.

"Couldn't stay in bed?" Ash froze at the sound of the voice, Celebi hiding in the bag in spite of it being so cramped. The source was a young woman, a fair bit older than he was back in the old timeline (Ash had no idea how that worked. Maybe he'd ask Celebi for help with tenses) but not as old as his mother. Speaking of which, if it weren't for the long black hair and the very faint marks on her cheeks that he could barely see in the dark, Ash would've thought it was his mother. …Was this his aunt or something?

She didn't notice his expression. "I know how you feel, little brother." she said, revealing herself to Ash. This was his big sister? Pain made him wince as he recalled the name of his older sister. …Belladonna. Belladonna Ketchum, his 19-year-old sister. His idol who started out with a Zubat of all things and ended up placing pretty high in the three leagues she went to before finally coming home and assisting Professor Oak at the lab.

She walked over, sighing. "You know you don't have to go." Belladonna said as ash looked at her in confusion. "No one's expecting you to go out there and you don't need to. You can stay here. Help mom." Ash knew no one expected him to go, last time or now. Actually, he felt the urge to say 'no, I don't want to go; I'll help around town'. He had a feeling that was his pre… whatever term he'd come up with use later talking. Not the Ash that faced down Mewtwo and died for it. Not the Ash that risked his life for Lugia and the entire planet. Not the Ash that faced Teams Aqua and Magma to save the Hoenn Region. Not the Ash that risked life and limb for the Unova region against Team Plasma. Not the Ash that faced Team Flare's insanity.

And most certainly not the Ash who came back in time to stop Cyrus' madness, whose only demand was that his family go back with him, because while he didn't bring them with him all the time because it was impossible to keep them all fed, in good condition and all that while on the move, he loved them all. From Butterfree, who he let go to find love, to Snorlax, who, despite being lazy as all hell, was strong and worth having around, to Gible, who loved to chomp on his head and blow things up with Draco Meteor, to Greninja and Goodra, who he left behind in Kalos because their homeland needed them more then he did to Lycanroc and Litten, his newest family members. He loved them all.

And that alone was enough reason to go. To hell with his own insecurities. "I know." Ash quietly said before looking into his sister's eyes. "But I'm going, Belladonna. Not because everyone's expecting me to go." His eyes hardened as the thought of Charmander and Tepig being abused by their bastard original trainers came to mind, as the image of Goomy, so terrified of fairy-types, appeared before him, as Litten's expression when Stoutland… passed went before him. He needed them. And they needed him. The old saying was 'you teach me, I teach you'. He taught them how to fight in a battle without getting overly hurt. They taught him how to make them into a family. "I'm going because I _need _to go." he declared.

Belladonna was shocked. At least her face said as much. But she smiled after processing that before giving him a bear-hug. "Come back often." she all-but-demanded. "You've still got a family here." Ash returned the hug rather uncomfortably. He didn't really get hugged by girls that often and until today, he only had one family member. "I can't make any promises." Ash said as he held back tears. Belladonna let go, knowing all too well what he meant. "We're cursed with a wanderlust, aren't we?" she mused aloud before kissing him on the forehead and going back to their house. Ash simply decided to set up that tent, noticing that Celebi was gone. '_Huh. She must've teleported away._' he thought. He had a big day tomorrow. Best to get some sleep.

* * *

Unova region - local time 2147 hours

* * *

An eye opened halfway, projecting a smugness that wasn't really there. It was more a species thing: after all, the term 'smug snake' came from Pokemon that looked like snakes, not _actual _snakes. And no snake-Pokemon put this forward better then the evolutionary line of Serperior. But the ultimate smug snake was the first of the line: Snivy. Her head lifted up before blinking. "Snivy." '_Where the hell am I?_' she asked as she looked around. Wallpaper-covered walls, curtains on a window… Oh, _hell _no.

She was back in Unova. Correction, she was back in Unova in the home of the one of the trainers she had before meeting and being caught by Ash. How in the hell… never mind, she knew how from talking with the rest of the family. Ash had a great deal of experience with time travel: apparently he met a younger Professor Oak who went forward in time thanks to Celebi and went back in time to save Arceus and inspire the invention of the Pokeball thanks to Dialga of all legendaries.

Her idiot was basically the Creator's hand on Earth. She'd know from all the things she'd gone through in Unova and all the incidents she'd heard of from the others: Lugia, the Unown, the Eon twins from Altomare which her not-so-idiotic idiot never forgave himself for letting Latios do what he did… just to name a few. Sometimes you had a chance to correct a mistake. In this case? It was making the mistake never happen to begin with. And Snivy would help her human brother.

Snivy found her Devon-built Pokeball, scowled at it and promptly used Leaf Blade on it to destroy it by hacking it in half. She had _one _trainer. And he was from Kanto. Ash was a fool, but had a fool's cunning, using his seeming stupidity against his enemies, making them underestimate them until it was too late for them to pull back, right before he crushed them. His time in Unova exposed him to unfamiliar Pokemon: if he knew everything about what he faced, the Conference would have ended _**VERY**_ differently. Know the enemy, know thyself and victory would forever be yours. Ash did not know his enemy. Ash did not know what he had to work with beyond the most basic information. That, not incompetence, was why he lost in Unova.

But she had something to do first: escape the house. Then find the others: Tepig, Oshawott, Pidove, Sandile, Scraggy, Sewaddle, Palpitoad and Roggenrola. After that… get the hell to Kanto. They would not wait for Ash to show up this time. _They _would go to _him_. Hijacking a ship, digging a tunnel, stealing a plane; whatever it took, they were leaving their birthplace to join their human brother. Which was saying a lot for a Snivy, even as she went through the house, using her snake-like body to go through the vents.

"Sni." '_See you never._' Snivy said as her escaped the house and entered the wilds through the vents, finding the air to taste more… dangerous, if that was possible. No matter. She had to find one of the others. Tepig, preferably: the fire-type might've had problems with self-confidence, but he did not lack for spirit and together they had excellent type-cover. Once all of them were together, they could face anything on the road to Kanto.

If she could find them.

* * *

Accumula Town - three hours prior

* * *

When Tepig was let out of his ball, he was surprised by three things: one, he was a Tepig, not a Pignite, two, he was back in Unova and finally, he was back with Shamus. His original, abusive trainer. He looked back at him before ignoring every word the Cyrus-lookalike (Pikachu's words, not his) said as the poor Deerling before him faced him down, firing off a Leafage which Tepig burned away with a quick Ember before jumping to the side, firing off a volley of burning material at the deer, setting the grasses on his antlers on fire.

"Ling!" '_Ow! What was—why are you ignoring your trainer?!_' Deerling demanded as he tried to put out the fires. Tepig scoffed at the Deerling's mistake, even if it was understandable. "Tep." '_Trainer?_' he spat. "Pig, tepig!" '_That is _not _my trainer. If hurting you ends this faster, I'll do it. I have a family to return to!_' Deerling charged at Tepig, enraged and in pain before Tepig spun around on his back, using an Ember-based counter shield that he picked up from Infernape, finally pleased that he got it down after almost two years of trying, setting the poor Deerling on fire, right before getting back on his feet as Deerling screamed in pain. "Pig." '_I'm sorry, I really am._' Tepig said, feeling sorry for the poor Deerling. If it was a match for Ash, he would take longer, be more gentle and not as ruthless.

But at the moment, Ash was not here and he refused to be near this garbage excuse for a human any longer than necessary. As proven when he caught fire. "Tepppppppppig!" '_But I need to end this quickly!_' he yelled as he ran at Deerling, igniting a Flame Charge before slamming into the poor thing, hearing cracks as his hardened skull slammed into Deerling's ribs as he made contact. Tepig REALLY felt guilty now.

"What do you know." a voice said as any guilt Tepig had melted away as Shamus looked at him. "Maybe you're actually useful after—" Tepig didn't let him finish as he spun around, then fired a machine gun-like amount of embers at Shamus, causing his shirt to catch fire for a moment as he patted it furiously. Now, Tepig was a kind, gentle soul who enjoyed a good, clean fight once in a while. But he was not perfect. So when he fired off an ember into Shamus' face, with one or two hitting a few sensitive spots, causing the boy to scream in pain and grab his face, he didn't feel all that sorry for him. This allowed Tepig to find and grab his Pokeball and run into the distance, even as Shamus screamed at him, going into the woods.

Sure, he didn't have Snivy's experience in being in the wild, but really… did he need it? All he had to do was find Snivy or one of the other captures Ash had. Then… well, he'd make his way to Kanto. Ash had to be there, because he knew all too well this had to be time travel, being in a younger body and all. Find the others, get to Kanto. At least Ash wouldn't mistreat him. He was a kind, wonderful trainer. A coo was heard as something landed on his back and took him into the air with some difficulty, the claws digging into his back, but not with the intent of causing pain.

"Doooooooove." '_You are heavy, Tepig, did you know that?_' the flying-type asked as Tepig looked up to see a Pidove struggling to keep them in the air. A Pidove he knew. "Pig!" '_Unfezant, is that you?!_' he asked as the bird got them to a tree, panting in exhaustion. "Pid…ove." '_Who else… would save… your hide, Pignite_?' she said, panting before glaring at herself. "Dooooooove." '_Creation Dragons, I am out of shape!_' "Pig." '_You're a Pidove, not an Unfezant._' Tepig retorted as he winced at the claw marks on his back. Damned bird was lucky that her talons weren't that sharp or that her grip was more to hold him, otherwise he would be bleeding.

"Doooooooove…" '_You think I didn't know that?!_' she spat at him. "Pid!" '_I blame Ash for this._' "Tep." '_Come on, it's not that bad._' Tepig tried to reassure his fellow teammate. He failed. "PIDOVE!" '_I'm a Pidove again! I used to rule the skies! Now I'm a pathetic songbird!_' she screamed. Tepig had to agree on that. Being back to the way you were sucked. But this was a second chance. Plus, he seemed to remember how to do all of his attacks. He was just a BIT out of shape. "Pi." '_Think of it like this, we get to Kanto, we can kick some serious rear at the Indigo Conference._' Tepig said, trying to bribe the bird with visions of glory.

After all, they had been denied for far too long. And from the look of it, the bribe worked as Pidove glanced at him. "Pidove, dove." '_I know you're playing me._' she said. '_But you're right. I do want to actually win a damned conference this time around._' Tepig eyesmiled. "Tepig!" '_That's the spirit!_" he said cheerfully. '_Come on, let's find the others._' "Dove." '_I nearly broke my back carrying you._' she said. "Do." '_I'm tired, I spent two hours trying to find someone and I want a freaking nap._' Well, Tepig wouldn't deny her that, even as the bird went to sleep. He followed suit.

* * *

Unova region, outside Accumula Town - 2348 hours

* * *

Tepig awoke with a start as he found someone familiar glaring at him. "Snivy." '_Well, aren't you happy-looking._' said the grass snake Pokemon as she glared at them. Tepig's sleepiness faded away. "Pig!" '_Snivy?! OUR Snivy?!_' he cried out. "Sni." '_Who else, Pignite? I see you found Pidove and got away from your asshole of a trainer._' she snarked, getting a fiery glare at her. "Piiiiiiiiig…" '_That sack of refuse is _not _and will _never be _my trainer._' he growled darkly. Snivy grinned at the fire in his tone.

"Snivy." '_Good. You're angry._' she stated, a tone of glee in her words. '_We can use that to get us back to Kanto. Now, we need to get Oshawott and Sandile._' "Pig." '_What do we need them for?_' he asked. Snivy gave him a 'you're an idiot' look. "Sniv." '_We need to get to Kanto. You thought we would swim there?_' she snarked. "Snivy." '_We need Sandile to dig our way to Kanto if we can't find a way to fly. Which, judging by dove girl, isn't happening._'

Pidove cracked an eye open. "Dove." '_Remind me, which of us lost when we faced one another, snake-girl?_' Pidove questioned, reminding Snivy of who beat who when Ash caught the snake. "Snivy, sni." '_He got lucky and we all know it. At least he's not a complete idiot like other trainers._' Snivy retorted. "Sni." '_We need to split up to find the others. Especially Scraggy's egg._' she declared. "Sniiiiiivy." '_Leave no Pokemon behind, right? We'll meet up at that sand spa place Oshawott told us about when we've found the others._' "Dove." '_Tepig can sniff them out._' Pidove said. '_And so can you._' Snivy scowled, but didn't argue. The search needed to start now.

* * *

Meanwhile, across the world

* * *

Dreams were a comfort. Unless you were small. Unless you were weak. Unless you were a dragon. And in the case of a purple blob with green spots, it was all three. A Goomy awoke from a wonderful dream that was his past life, where he was a Goodra. This was Ash's Goodra, reverted and transformed into his old Goomy state. "Goo?" '_What the hell?_' he asked aloud. "Goomy?" '_Why am I a Goomy again?_' The blob wasn't pleased with the turn of events.

And less pleased when he felt sharp claws on his skin. "Fletch?" '_Goodra?_' asked the unwelcome bird. "Ling?" '_Are you Goodra?_' Goomy was confused before he took in the Fletchling's scent. This wasn't just a common bird: he knew this thing. "Goomy?" '_Talonflame? As in Ash's Talonflame?_' he asked. The robin pokemon began to jump around in joy. "Ling! Ling! Ling! Ling! Ling! Ling!" '_I found you! Thank the Creation Trio!_' Fletchling chirped. '_I thought that was a fever dream or something! We just went back in time, like Infernape always said!_' Goomy didn't get it. Time travel? What was she going on about? "Goomy." '_What are you blathering about, Fletchling? We can't go back in time._' the soft tissue Pokemon said with absolute certainty. "Fletchling, fletch!" '_Not alone, you blob!_' Fletchling berated with a peck. '_We had help! Dialga or Celebi or something! You know who they are, right?_'

Goomy sighed. He did. He knew what they were all too well: the God of Time and the time traveler Pokemon. Just his luck. But he couldn't blame Ash for it. Ash didn't ask to run into this crap. _It _ran into _him_. There was just one problem. To stay in the swamp… or go to his trainer. Oh, who was he _kidding_? If it weren't for Ash in the last timeline, he would be a weak pathetic Goomy that would've dried out and died a long time ago. Instead, he was a strong, powerful Goodra.

And that was in less then two months last time: imagine meeting up with Ash early in his journey. His power would match that of… well… Pikachu. Oh, sure, he was a pseudo-legendary, as some humans called him, but Pikachu was stronger then most fully-evolved Pokemon. "Goo." '_Ok, where do we need to go?_' Goomy asked at last. "Ling!" '_Serena!_' Fletchling stated. "Ling, fletch!" '_We find Serena, she'll take us to Kanto! She knows Ash, she always knows Ash! It's a rule of the world!_' Goomy couldn't argue with that logic. The others would probably be doing the same thing, plus they knew where she lived thanks to her team constantly talking about her hometown: Vanille Town.

"…Goomy." '_You know I'm slow as all hell, right?_' Goomy asked. '_I _am _a snail, unless you've forgotten._' "Fletchling!" '_I know. But if you use Rain Dance, you move faster, right?_' Fletchling said. '_Because the ground's wet?_' Goomy agreed. With one problem. "Goo." '_If I do that, you'll get soaked._' he stated. "Goo-my." '_And you're a fire-type. That's a bad thing._' "Ling." '_Only after I evolve!_' the bird said as she took to the air. Well, Goomy never said he knew everything about Kalosian Pokemon. So Goomy did what he did best… and made it rain. Next stop, Vanille Town.

* * *

Hoenn Region - 0514 hours local time

* * *

The last thing the bird knew was sitting in her tree, getting ready for another race. The next thing she knew, she was waking up, she wasn't evolved and she was back in her birth region. And Taillow wasn't happy about it. Because she enjoyed her life in Kanto at Oak's ranch. Plus side, she knew where she was: leading her flock.

And she could fly. So she could easily take them to Kanto. But if being one of Ash's Pokemon had impressed anything on her, it was 'we are family and family does not leave family behind'. If she flew straight to Kanto, she would be betraying her fellow Hoenn captures. "Tail." '_I hate my life._' she muttered as she took to the air, the rest of her flock awakening with cries of 'Taillow' and variations of such, wondering what was going on as their leader took off with such purpose. But Taillow was trying to find a landmark and any familiar smells. And she quickly picked up one from a forest.

The only question was, would he be willing to come with her? Would he even want to leave? Taillow had to get to him, if only to get a yes or no. She then began to figure out what happened. Bayleaf said Professor Oak went through time and Ash himself went back according to Infernape, inspiring the Pokeball's creation! Which meant that they had gone back, likely to the day Ash became a trainer. Which actually gave her a thought: would she and the others be able to fight in the Indigo Conference? Would they finally get to win?

Those thoughts dominated her mind before she finally arrived, landing in the branches of a tree before a twig was sent flying at her face. "Tail." '_Well, aren't you personable._' she snarked at the attacker. Which happened to be a familiar face, as a bipedial gecko came out of the dying tree. He was a legend among the family for good reason. "Tre." '_Hello, Swellow._' said Treecko, the future Sceptile that defeated Tobias' infamous Darkrai. "Tree." '_I am not a happy Pokemon. Why am I a Treecko again?_'

Taillow had no answers. No real ones. She did have an idea. "Low." '_End of the world time travel, maybe?_' she suggested. "Taillow." '_I have no idea. I just know we're in the past._' She looked at the tree, which, while still alive, was clearly on its' last legs. It was dying and it showed, with her claws easily scraping up bark without even trying and the leaves were not as vibrant as the others. It would not make it much longer. "Taillow, tail-tail." '_And your home is… well, I don't think it'll be alive by the time Ash comes here this time around.'_ she said as delicately as she could. Treecko glared at her for it. "Treeee." '_I know that, bird._' he spat. '_My ancestral home is dying faster this time. And I do not know why._'

Taillow sighed as she face-winged. "Tail." '_I'm sorry, I just… It's about Ash._' she chirped as she got to the point. "Taillow." '_We're his team. Basically family. And… well…_' "Treecko." '_You want to know if I'll go back._' the gecko deadpanned. "Tree." '_I'll admit, I don't like leaving them. But… Arceus, I won't abandon Ash, either._' Taillow figured she knew what was going to happen. Treecko's family would have to come with them. If he could convince them. "Taiiiiiiiiiiil!" '_Leader!_' a member of the flock screamed as they flew in.

And that opened a larger can of worms. Her own flock. She heard that Ash's first bird had to be let go to take care of another flock of her own kind. She never came back. She saw how much that pained Ash, who waited every time he visited the ranch to find her. Every time a league finished, from Johto to Kalos, he watched the skies, waiting for that bird to come back. Only to never show up.

She would not abandon Ash. But her flock… She took to the air, going into a practiced hover like Noctowl often did. Of course, he was an owl, not a swallow. She was built for speed, not silent flight, so while she could do it, she wasn't that great at it. "Tail! Low, low, low!" '_Ok, everyone, I have something to say_.' she addressed the flock as they flew around. '_I… I need to leave. There's someone I need to find. He needs my help_.' The flock all objected, demanding answers. But Taillow couldn't give any. She had a family to reunite.

* * *

Sinnoh Region - 1345 hours local time

* * *

A fin appeared above the ground with purpose. Oh, he knew what the hell was going on. He might not have been there for it, but he knew thanks to the others talking about their adventures in Johto and with Arceus. And while he had no idea where the others were, he knew how to find them. After all, he had a very powerful sense of smell. Sharks always did. And even if he was on land, that didn't mean he wasn't a shark.

It just meant he was a land shark. And Gible was on the hunt, the only thing betraying his presence being his notched fin. He would find the others. He would bring them back to Kanto. They would find Ash. And as soon as he found Ash, his head would have a blue-gray/red-bellyed land shark chomping on it.

But as he moved, something came to mind. It sounded like 'Da-na. Da-na. Da-na, Da-na. Da-na, Da-na, Da-na, Da-na', then repeated the 'Da-na' much faster. He had no idea what it was. But he _liked _it as he 'Gib'ed along to it.

* * *

Kanto Region - five kilometers from Pewter City - 0139 hours local time

* * *

An eye opened as his form materialized, regarding many things: the location, the time… his size… so his reaction was understandable. "Char?!" '_What the hell just happened to me?!_' cried an adorable-looking fire-lizard. Still, Ash's Kanto powerhouse was back to square one thanks to his trainer taking up the call to save the world.

Was he pissed as all hell about being a Charmander again? Yes. _Very much_ yes. But he saw this as a chance to undo the mistakes of his past. Oh, he was an idiot. Did Ash want him to fight for him? Yes. But not for him. For all of them: the entire family. Ash trusted him with his dreams, his feelings and his very _life_. He showed no fear of being held by the fire-flyer when he rescued him from that Entei clone, but really, the best example was ongoing. After all the crap he put Ash through as a Charmeleon and Charizard in Kanto and before Shamouti, Ash never abandoned him.

Which was more then could be said for a few people. "Eat." the much-loathed voice of his original trainer said as he put a bowl of food in front of him. Charmander got his head out of the clouds. It was time he did something he wanted to do for a very long time as his claws took on a metallic sheen. "Char!" '_Go to hell!_' he yelled as he ducked behind Damian, hacking at his legs.

The Metal Claw dug through the human's legs, cutting the hamstrings but leaving him alive, if in great pain. The fire-type found his Pokeball, scowling at it before destroying it with an overpowered Metal Claw. It hurt making contact, but when it cracked, it was useless from that point on. Charmander then looked at Damian's Pokeball belt and bag. Not this time. He clawed it off his pants, then placed the damaged belt in the backpack before tearing it off his back, fleeing as fast as he could.

"CHARMANDER! GET BACK HERE!" the trainer screamed before Charmander made his way deeper into the forest, heading for Viridian City, knowing Ash would be there. Damian kept screaming at him, but Charmander ignored it, though he did notice that it turned from pain and anger to pain and terror after a few minutes. Damian wasn't Charmander's problem anymore.

* * *

Kanto Region - Outside the Oak Ranch - 0141 hours local time

* * *

Ash continued to examine the weapons, the headaches screaming at him that he could get the ammo in any major town along with magazines for both of his weapons. He still didn't like it. He was very much anti-gun/pro-Pokemon. And this timeline was not right if he had a gun.

"Brrrriiiiiiiiii." 'I'll make some investigations with the other legendaries.' Celebi said as Ash continued to glare at the weapons like they were unnatural. On the other hand, Ash hated guns, so that could be understood. "Bi." 'Maybe I can find out what's going on around here.' "Good luck." Ash said, finally putting the weapons away before finding a sleeping bag, though it was… very different: canvas, wool and cotton. No smooth nylon outside. Maybe sleeping on it would make it less confusing. The young man got into the bag, set up his pillow and planted his head on it, closing his eyes.

In retrospect, this was a mistake, as his dreams were very troubled. Fire and pain dominated his dreams, as people screamed, shadows and light dancing in a maze of confusion. Ash would not get a good night's sleep that night. Without Pikachu, he had nothing to save him from his other self's past.

* * *

(Input access code: ***************** …Access granted. Playing video file)

(Dour-looking man in a suit with an R on the coat pocket appears) ?: _Greetings. I am the boss of Team Rocket. If you are watching this file, then you are here to learn the situation of the world beyond what you have been taught by the conservative schools you've no doubt attended. I do not expect you to watch every file. But if you do, you will be better-suited to face the dangers you will face as a member of Team Rocket. Take of that as you will. Good day_. (File ends)

* * *

Entry 1: Shadow Pokemon

Destroyers of unity, creators of chaos, the angry night: whatever term you use, Shadow Pokemon are a menace to what is left of society. Emotionless killers, they seek only to kill or corrupt normal Pokemon into more of their own, with little concern for humanity: most humans are outright killed on contact, only saved by Pokemon throwing themselves in the line of fire until the universal adoption of firearms by almost all trainers.

Shadow Pokemon were used as a 'wonder weapon' by Team Cipher during their attempted conquest of the world, only to universally turn on their masters in the war sixty years ago for unknown reasons. While Cipher was slaughtered to a man, their legacy continues to walk the earth. Team Rocket personnel are ordered to avoid them at all costs. No exceptions are allowed, as there is no way to purify Shadow Pokemon after Team Cipher used a nuclear bomb to destroy Agate Village.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Oh, look, another change between this and the fics it's technically based on. That's right, readers: Shadow Pokemon are the big reason. They are EVERYWHERE. You can't tell if a Shadow Pokemon from a normal one except from their behaviour, something very much confirmed by the only two games they've appeared in. And if you can't trust a Pokemon, you have to rely on human technology. Which is why guns are a thing. Do I like the thought? Not really: **_**Pokemon **_**is based on trust and love, not just game mechanics. Being forced to turn a gun on someone you thought you could trust isn't something I enjoy.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Not something I really enjoy, either. A bit like getting dragged into all these Pokemon fics when my muse is quite clearly elsewhere. Which is why I have help keeping this guy in line. Feel free to go all out, you two!**

**Vita: Sure thing. **_**EISEN!**_

**Graf Eisen: **_**Gigantform!**_

**Ikkaku: BAN-KAI! RYŪMON HŌZUKIMARU!**

**Ron the True Fan: Well, this will be painful. Before I get stabbed, yes, Belladonna is basically a **_**PRB **_**immigrant with a major exception: she's not his half-sister and Delia's her mother. And before you can claim the same with Yellow, remember, Yellow's original appearance was the manga. Cross owns Belladonna; I'm just borrowing her on occasion.**

**117Jorn: Have fun Ron! *Sits back with popcorn alongside Gible and a Natu***

**Ja Ne!**


	3. Chapter 2: A New Beginning

**Ron the True Fan: And welcome back, readers. Prepare for the events of episode one of the original series, albeit changed. The butterfly effect hit hard for a few reasons, but the big one is mostly the fact that Dialga and Palkia distorted time. The timeline Ash and the family are from just… doesn't exist anymore. **

**On an unrelated note, please check out my YouTube channel for playthoughs of games like _Star Trek Online _and other (mostly PC) titles. (Can't get my DS, Switch or any of my consoles to be recorded. Yet...)**

* * *

**Pallet Town, Kanto Region - 0654 hours local time**

* * *

Ash awoke as the sun began to rise, his rest being filled with nothing but nightmares. Still, he wouldn't have any more after today. Pikachu would make sure of that. Still, he had a problem at the moment. That being something was holding him down. There were two people, one of them being Belladonna, holding onto him. She really wanted to make sure he was ok.

Still, the second one was a young man, about three years younger then Ash, with dark brown hair, almost black, looking much like him, only without the marks on his face. The headaches came a moment later, along with knowledge of the boy's identity: Red. His little brother. Apparently, Ash and Belladonna were his heroes, Belladonna being the first to go through two leagues while Ash served as a moral inspiration for him, showing him how to care for Pokemon and trying to make sure he was a kind trainer.

But why were they here? Ash shifted a little, with little Red latching onto him. "Don't go." the 11-year old all-but-demanded. Ash could understand: he was the big brother, the rock for the family. Red and Yellow needed him and Belladonna because their father… wasn't there. Oh, if he ever found that bastard this time, he was going to make him go home: one doesn't start a family and just leave. Even he knew that: it was why he was never going to do what he did. Even if it broke his heart, he would never subject the women he had grown to love to that torture.

But that was beside the point as he hugged his little brother back. "I have to go." Ash said to Red, even as he rubbed his little brother's back comfortingly. 'The world apparently needs me to mop up its' messes.' he thought sardonically. Red started to cry, clinging tighter before another pair of arms wrapped around Red. "There, there, little brother." soothed Belladonna as she pried her youngest brother from his vice grip on Ash, allowing him to get out. "I'll pack up your stuff. Go to the lab, Ash."

Ash didn't need to be prompted any further. He had been away from Pikachu far too long already. He needed to grab his starter and find the rest of the family and make sure they were safe. Which explained why Ash didn't bother looking back, much to the confusion of his siblings.

* * *

**Oak Laboratory - 0704 hours local time**

* * *

Samuel Oak knew this was going to happen, so he hid all but one starter pokeball. THe last one, he handed over to his grandson. "Gramps, I gotta ask…" Gary Oak started as his grandfather hid the filled Pokeballs and replaced them with empty ones. "Why are you hiding the other starters?" The elder Oak looked at his grandson sternly, scaring the younger man. Perhaps this was to be expected: after all, while Gary was his grandson, Ash was the more favored of his pupils, mostly because while knowledge was important, bonding with Pokemon was infinitely more so, especially in these trying times.

"Gary, I want you to listen very closely." the famed professor said as Gary collapsed the ball into its' storage state and clipped it to his belt. "If you see Ash, tell him that he woke up late and all of the normal starters are gone." "But… why?" Gary asked, confused. Why would he have to lie, especially to Ash? Sure, Gary was an arrogant ass at times and he knew it, but he thought of Ash as a friend first and rival second. When he didn't have his ego inflated, but a visit to Aunt Delia often popped those like a Jigglypuff getting hit with an crossbow bolt. She was a really nice lady… when you didn't make her mad.

Then she became a rampaging monster and your options boiled down to 'run, do not walk, in the opposite direction' and 'stand, fight, die/be completely humiliated'. Metaphorically speaking, of course: Delia didn't kill people as far as Gary knew. She just made them wish for it without even hurting them. His grandfather called it the 'Garek Effect' for some reason. But back to the point at hand as Samuel gripped his shoulders, the older man's eyes boring into his soul. "Do. Not. Tell. Him. Do I make myself clear?" Oak all but demanded before Gary nodded as if he were a bobblehead.

The older Oak let him go before grabbing his grandson's Pokedex and handing it to him. "Try not to catch everything that you see." the scientist all but begged. "Just because I have Pokemon that can use Grassy Terrain and have small animals I can give the more carnivorous ones to feed on doesn't mean my resources are infinite." He had to import thousands of mice and rabbits to feed Pokemon like Charmander and Ekans. Fortunately for him, there were places in the world that wanted them gone. Still didn't mean he could afford thousands of new Pokemon in the ranch. A few dozen, maybe.

Gary gave his cocky grin. "I'll try not to, but I make no promises." he said as he prepared to leave the lab. "I mean it, Gary." Oak warned. "Any extra feeding expenses will come from your pocket until I can get more food plants and actually set up a breeding program for the rabbits and mice." With that warning, Gary paled and ran outside. Oak realized he really did need to set up a mini-farm. Good thing hydroponics was a thing.

Still, at least Ash would get Pikachu. …Maybe he should've called that girl's parents to drag her in, but she liked to sleep in. At least she'd take the Bulbasaur.

* * *

Outside, Ash prepared for his first day as a trainer. From the spearow flock from hell to meeting Pikachu, he was ready for anything. He was fully prepared for Misty not to be there, too: who knows what had changed? Thankfully, some things weren't so different, as Gary was there first, looking cocky as always. "Hey, Ash! Sleep in, did we?" Gary asked mockingly. Or not so mockingly: Ash could hear a slight waver in his voice. Was that fear? "You're late! Everyone came and took the starter Pokemon!" Ash knew this was a lie. There was one in there, waiting for him. He hoped. And that uncertainty showed on his face. What if Pikachu wasn't there?

"Looks like you're staying here, Ashy-boy!" Gary mocked, though he really didn't have the heart for it. Was their relationship different here? At any rate, Gary walked off, though there was no car and no cheerleaders this time around. But Ash didn't care about that. He cared about his starter and the rest of the family. So while Gary walked away, he walked inside.

Waiting for him inside a really messed up lab was Professor Oak, putting on a new lab coat, who noticed him a few seconds after the young man entered the room. "Ah, Ash." he greeted cheerfully before narrowing his eyes. "You're late. Being a second late for a train is life changing, Ash. All of the starters were taken by trainers that were on time." Ash knew for a fact that was a complete and total lie. A stronger word came to mind, but he didn't pay attention to it. "There's got to be another choice, isn't there?" Ash all but begged. 'Please… Pikachu, be here!' he thought in desperation. Oak then sighed, producing a pokeball with a lightning bolt on it from his own belt. "There is one, but…" Oak said before he paused to gesture at the depression on the release button, which had a black ring. "There is a problem with this one."

Ash did not care. Pikachu was Pikachu. "I'll take it!" he cried impulsively, taking the ball out of Oak's hands before he pressed the button with his middle finger, releasing the pokemon within. The energy soon formed a slightly chubby yellow mouse with a lightning bolt tail, red cheeks and dark eyes. Ash smiled, ignoring Pikachu's sparking before just hugging the little thing, all the sparks ending as Pikachu calmed down. "Pikapi!" '_Ash!_' the little mouse cried as he jumped onto Ash's right arm and took his customary place on his trainer's shoulder. "Piiiiii~ka!" '_I am never leaving your side again, do you hear me, you idiot?!_' Pikachu said as he tried not to cry. '_Never! Again!_'

Oak watched this curiously. "Well, you seem to have… bonded." he said dryly before producing another Pokeball. "But as you are very well aware, that Pikachu is a Shadow Pokemon. And while he's calm… for now…" Pikachu stopped rubbing his cheeks against Ash's to glare at the old man for suggesting he be taken away. That happened three times - Mewtwo was going to suffer the next time they met, Groudon and Kyogre were going to get chopped and electrocuted and that Mew was going to have to avoid his rage - and was not happening again. Oak ignored him, handing the other ball to Ash. "I don't need it." the young trainer said, trying to keep his voice even. While he wouldn't mind expanding the family, he had to find the rest first. Butterfree, Charizard, Bulbasaur, Quilava, Heracross, Swellow, Chimchar, Gible, Pignite, Snivy, Greninja, Goodra, Rowlet, Lycanroc: they came first. Catching anyone new would have to wait until the rest were safe, if he caught anyone at all.

But Oak did not know this. "I insist." Oak stressed. "Ash, that Pikachu is a Shadow Pokemon and likely to disobey you—" "Chu." '_After the Spearows? Not likely._' Pikachu retorted, but Oak took this as proof. "Besides, the League has strict regulations on this sort of thing." the professor said. "If I have to give you a Shadow Pokemon as a starter, I have to give you a powerful non-starter just so you can survive. The rules are the rules. Besides, you may like this one." He tapped the ball, opening it. The energy surged out, forming something that looked like a Pikachu, but… not one. It was a Pokemon Ash and Pikachu were all too familiar with.

After all, one tried to kill them on a regular basis in Alola. "Professor Kukui in Alola sent me this Mimikyu for study, but every time I let her out, she refuses to do anything." Oak explained, gesturing to the Mimikyu in question. "Acute depression, mostly. The only thing I can do is give her to a trainer. And you're the best and only choice." The Mimikyu perked up before looking at Ash. "Mi?" '_Are you… my friend?_' the Mimikyu asked, sounding like a young girl, kinda like Lana's little sisters, only a bit more distorted.

And Ash was not going to deny anyone a chance for friendship. "Hi. I'm Ash." he said, extending his hand to the little ghost/fairy-type.

"Mi… Mimi… KYUUUU!" '_F… Frie… FRIEND!_' The little Pokemon shouted, leaping on Ash's unoccupied shoulder and cuddling with his face happily purring.

"I'm not surprised you would try to make a friend, in spite of Mimikyu's… reputation." Oak said as Mimikyu acted more like a cat then a… well, Pikachu. "Just try not to look under the rag; people have died doing that." Ash nodded, knowing all too well about that thanks to Team Rocket's Mimikyu. And about the power of this little rag-covered Pokemon: he had lost count of the number of times a Shadow Ball nearly killed his starter back in Alola. Having a Mimikyu himself would allow him to know what that monster back in Alola could do so he could make Team Rocket's life very difficult. Enough to make them go away, hopefully.

"Well, good luck, Ash." the professor said with a smile. "Try to avoid your mother: I would rather not hear about your undergarments and how infrequently they are changed." On that, Ash could not agree more.

* * *

**Kalos Region - 1947 hours local time**

* * *

He risked his life today, only to anger a massive flock of quick-tempered and dangerous Pokemon, but for good reason. He had a family member to recover.

Hawlucha knew of time travel from the rest of the family: Celebi and Dialga were commonly cursed names by Bayleaf and Infernape, though Pikachu had to fill in the blanks during Ash's trip back to Kanto with his Alolan friends. Still, he wasn't complaining about that: with everything that happened, time travel was new.

It was having to risk his live to save an egg that if it wasn't there he wouldn't even bother that he had right to complain about. The luchador Pokemon had to check the local Noivern flock for the egg, finding that it was laid now. Unlike most eggs, those of dragon-types were… impossible to eat by Ekans and Arbok. One Dragonite pair had an egg, an Arbok tried to eat it, the arbok got sick and nearly died. Not to mention eggs nearly lasted forever. For all he knew, Noibat was born now and his egg simply waited for six years for the events of his hatching last time.

He didn't care at this point. He just had to protect the egg and get back to the ranch. "Fletchling!" '_Hawlucha, you overly theatrical bastard!_' a familiar voice chirped before a Fletchling appeared in front of him. "Ling!" '_Do you remember me?_'

"Haw?" '…_Talonflame?_' Hawlucha asked in confusion. "Hawlucha!" '_You're a Fletchling? When did Ash catch you?_'

The robin landed on the ground. "Ling!" '_I was Ash's first catch, not counting Froakie._' Fletchling proudly chirped. "Fletch…" '_Well, his first Kalos catch… I think a bug-type was his first._'

Rain began to fall before a certain snail appeared, moving slowly. "Goomy." '_I hate being a Goomy…_' said Ash's second Kalosian powerhouse as he slowly slithered on the dampened ground. "Goo?" '_Hawlucha? I thought you were miles away._'

The wrestling bird wasn't pleased with that reaction. "Hawlucha." '_I was. I might not look like it, but I am a flying type, snail dragon._' Hawlucha said with a bit of bite.

"Goomy." '_Don't remind me._' said snail dragon retorted. "Goo." '_I want to be a big powerful Goodra again._'

"Fletch!" '_At least the gang's all together!_' Fletchling chirped before realizing the mistake in her statement. "Fletchling." '_Not counting Froakie, but he's lab-born, so he's Arceus knows where._'

A water sphere shot overhead, all three Pokemon preparing for combat, mostly hiding behind the only one of them with Hydration, using Goomy's slimy body as a shield. But the threat was non-existent.

"Froak." '_You are quite mistaken, bird._' said a light blue, bubble-covered frog as he appeared before them, using his skills he had mastered in the last timeline. "Froakie." '_I may be lab-born, but I am not an idiot._'

Hawlucha narrowed his eyes. "Haw-lu." '_Don't do that again._' he all but threatened. "Cha." '_I have Noibat's egg and am not going to tolerate that around him._'

"Fro." '_That was just to get your attention._' retorted Froakie. "Froakie-Froak." '_Now, what happened? Why am I a Froakie again and which legendary do I have to beat for making me break out of the lab and spend a full day without rest to find you?_'

"Hawlucha." '_Now, you would know the story._' the fighting-type said, resisting the urge to smirk before continuing to mock Froakie. "Lucha." '_If you hadn't decided to stay here last time._'

"Froak." '_I stayed here because Ash told me to stay and help Zygarde!_' the frog roared back. "Froakie!" '_And what do you know that I don't?!_'

Goomy groaned before having enough with the two. His answer to this was type advantage. While he never learned in Ash's care, he did know the basics from Pikachu. And so, the two arguing morons got an electrocution via a weak Thunderbolt each, knocking Froakie on his rear and Hawlucha to collapse on his back. "Goo, Goomy, Goo, Goo, Goo!" '_Shut the hell up, both of you!_' the weakest dragon demanded. '_Ash left me here as well, per my own request, to protect my home. And fighting like this will only distract us from getting to Serena._'

Froakie groaned as he got back to his feet. "Froak?" '_Serena?_' he asked. "Fro." '_We should be heading to Kanto, not Vanille Town._'

"Fletch!" '_Because Serena knows Ash!_' the robin cried. "Fletch-ling!" '_That's a universal constant! Serena always knows Ash, no matter the timeline! She's our best chance to get to Kanto!_'

Froakie was a stubborn Pokemon, much like Ash, but… there was logic in this. "Froakie." '_I am bound to Ash._' he said solemnly. "Froak." '_He is my liege-lord. His will is my own. Should he need me to return to Kalos, I will. But he requires me now. And Serena is the fastest option to return to his side._' The ninja frog gestured with his left arm. "Froak." '_Lead on, Fletchling._'

The fire robin took to the air. "Ling!" '_Follow me!_' she chirped.

"Goo." '_Would someone bother carrying me?_' asked the dragon-type. Froakie obliged, grabbing his fellow powerhouse and carrying him.

* * *

**Kanto Region, Route 1 - 0844 hours local time**

* * *

Ash had reclaimed his backpack and equipment from Belladonna and was now enroute to Viridian City. With an extra companion from another region. "So… are you going to be a problem, Mimikyu?" he asked the Disguise Pokemon.

"Mimimimimikyuuuu!" '_Nononono! I'll never be a problem to you! I'll do whatever you want! I Just wanna be your friend!_' Mimikyu shouted in a panic, looking at Pikachu. "Kyuuu…" 'D-Did I do something wrong?'

"Pikapi-Pikachu." '_It's a long story._' he explained gently. "Pikapi." '_We've had run-ins with another Mimikyu. He was a murderous freak that consistently tried to kill me._'

"And I never understood why." Ash continued for his starter, attempting to scratch his head. "I thought Mimikyus mimicked Pikachus because they wanted to be loved, but that thing…"

"Mimi! Mimikyu!"'_I-I would never do that!_' The Mimikyu said hurriedly. '_I-I just want friends and… and…_' the Pokemon paused before looking at Ash. "Mimi… kyu?" '_Wait… you can… understand us?_'Ash nodded. "Another long story." the trainer said. "But if you're willing to listen when we get to Viridian Forest, I'll explain everything."

Before Mimikyu could reply, a caw was heard in the air, making Pikachu jump off his shoulder and spark violently. "Pi." '_Spearows._' he all but snarled.

But he was wrong. At least about the plural, as a single Spearow dropped from the sky, looking battered. "Sp… ear…" '_Run. run…_' the bird said.

Ash leaned down, picking up the bird. "What's going on?" Ash asked the bird. "What did this to you?"

"Spea… row. Spear…" '_Run, human. My flock… they've gone insane." the tiny bird said. 'They ate something. They went crazy a few days ago!_'

Ash looked at Pikachu. "Can you use thunderbolt?" he asked his starter, who shook his head. "Pika." '_I don't have the power for that, Ash._' he replied sadly. '_I know how to do it, but… I don't have the power._' Ash wanted to curse Celebi for that, but it wasn't as though Celebi had a choice in the matter. She was right: it would take a legendary to get them back to that level of power.

More caws were heard from above. The Spearow death flock at arrived. But Ash had no intention of leaving anyone to die. He bundled up Spearow, looking at Mimikyu. "Sorry, Mimikyu, but I don't think you can run and fight at the same time!" Mimikyu didn't argue as Ash returned her, placing her ball on his belt as the pair began to run. "Spear?!" '_What are you doing, human?!_' screamed the bird. "Row…" '_Oh, why do I bother: you can't understand me._' "I'm saving your life, Spearow!" retorted Ash, much to Spearow's surprise. "Pikachu, use whatever electric attacks you can do right now! We'll have to make this a fighting retreat!"

"Pika!" '_At least we're fighting!_' cried Pikachu, as he took aim at the approaching birds, firing off what appeared to be black lightning at the flock. "…Pi?!" '_That's new!_'

"Keep it up, Pikachu!" Ash yelled as they began to run down the route to Viridian.

* * *

**Route 1 - Tajiri River - around the same time**

* * *

A bobber hit the water, connected to a lure and a fishing rod held by a young red haired woman, wearing a yellow top with jean shorts held up by suspenders, all covered by a raincoat made from Mareep wool, Ekans and Dratini skins (all shed, of course) and shed Quilava fur.

Sitting beside her was a yellow Pokemon with a large bill, holding his head. "Duck." went the Psyduck. Of course, she couldn't understand what he said. "I know, Psyduck." the girl said to the waterfowl before the bobber suddenly went under the water. Her eyes suddenly lit up before tugging back on the reel, struggling with the hooked fish. But anyone that knew Misty Waterflower knew that she did not simply give up. As she brought up the Magikarp, she sadly realized that was a very low number.

Caws were heard as Misty balled the fish. "Huh?" Misty questioned as her eyes turned skyward. A massive flock of Spearow and Fearow were in the air, heading her way. And they looked… diseased. She hoped they weren't infected with prions, which, in a post-Cipher War world, was a very real and dangerous problem. It was rare now, thanks to the efforts of men like Professor Oak and the diseases were slowly dying, with the exception of the Pokeris, but it was a serious and real danger.

"Duck?" her Psyduck quacked before noticing the horde. "Psy!" "We need to get to cover." Misty stated, grabbing her bag, which included her sidearm. In a world with Shadow Pokemon, the league pretty much demanded trainers to have a gun in case their Pokemon was hurt. Or if they ran into Shadow Pokemon at all. Unarmed trainers tended to never come home. And there was nowhere to run as the crazed Spearows dove on her. The first Spearow rushed at her, hacking claws into her arm, before hundreds of birds attempted to peck and claw her to death.

Psyduck fought back, using confusion when they pecked him, but that did nothing. "Psy!" '_Someone electric, help!_' quacked the duck.

* * *

**Nearby**

* * *

"Chhhhhhuuuuuuuuu!" '_Die, you murderous birds!_' Pikachu yelled as he fired off another Shadow thunderbolt at the flock, but they continued to circle and attempt to claw at Ash and the other spearow.

"They just keep coming!" Ash said as he continued to shield Spearow. "What's their problem?!" Even as Ash wondered, Pikachu decided he didn't care as he heard a familiar scream. A familiar quacking scream he identified as Psyduck. Misty's Psyduck. That water bird might've been a serious pain in the ass for Misty, but if he wanted to leave, he would have a long time ago: he cared for Misty enough to be a pain in her ass.

So as rain began to fall, Pikachu looked to Ash. "Pikapi!" '_Ash, I can hear Psyduck!_' he said. '_Misty's Psyduck!_'

Ash, in pain, but still able to move, glanced at his starter. "Psyduck?" he asked the mouse. "What's he doing here?"

"Pika!" '_Should we care?!_' Pikachu retorted. "Pipipi!" '_Psyduck's in danger and we need to help him!_' Ash knew that Psyduck was in that district of Celedon, Hop-Hop-Hop Town, as ridiculous as it was called, back in the other timeline, so he was right to question how he could be near Pallet. On the other hand, Pikachu knew Misty's Psyduck's voice very well and was not likely to mistake him for another Psyduck.

So he gave Pikachu the benefit of the doubt as he gave Pikachu a wordless command to lead on and followed him, firing arcs at the sky as they came to that river from before, only it was much bigger and deeper. But some things did not change at all. And while she was older, more womanly and had longer red hair… he would recognize Misty anywhere. And while she would kill him later, he would gladly die to make sure she was safe. Ash jumped the river, smacking any Spearow that got too close to him as he got to Misty's side, putting the friendly Spearow in his bag and picked her up in a bridal carry, rushing down the riverbank. "Duck?!" '_Where the hell are you going with my trainer?!_' cried the familiar yellow duck Ash once mocked Misty for catching a long time ago.

"I'm saving her life!" Ash yelled back, surprising the duck as he ran, carrying one of the many women he had travelled with and fallen in love with in his long journey from Kanto to Alola. Ash grit his teeth as he pushed those thoughts to the wayside, reminding himself that he may have loved her in the other timeline, but he friend-zoned her and every single girl he met from day one, refusing to be his womanizing bastard of a father. That said, he would not let her die. He would die first before letting that happen! He _had_ died making sure that never happened!

"You Arceus-damned birds…" Ash growled as he ran towards Viridian. "Will not…" He headbutted a Spearow, pretty sure that broke its' neck, but not really caring so long as Misty was safe, allowing the other Spearows to claw and peck him while protecting her. "TOUCH HER!"

Lightning began to strike the ground before Pikachu had enough. "PIKA…" '_All of you…_' the mouse growled dangerously as electrical power welled within him. "CHU!" '_SUFFER AND DIE!_' Pikachu's form fired out black and yellow lightning, striking every hostile Spearow and even the Fearows, arcing and striking every bird in the flock, using the storm itself to boost the power of the bolts. This had one drawback, as Pikachu discovered.

It completely drained him, as he fell on his face. That being said, the flock of death was done for, being reduced to a twitching mass of feathers and pain. But as drained and hurt as he was, Pikachu grinned. "Pi…" '_I… win…_' he said before the skies began to clear.

* * *

Misty felt nothing but pain, but she was alive, regaining consciousness. And she took sight of why she was still alive. A young man, almost her age, if a bit younger, with tanned skin, strange lightning-bolt marks on his cheeks, brownish-red eyes and black hair with a Pokemon League cap on his head, wearing a blue and white jacket with a black T-shirt. She couldn't see much else.

But she didn't know him. Why would he save her? "Duck!" Psyduck, pecked and in pain, cried as he waddled over to his trainer, still in her saviour's arms as the rain came to a stop and the sun began to shine. And shine brightly. Very brightly. And while Psyduck had Cloud Nine, it couldn't do that. Her saviour's eyes turned skyward, catching sight of something as they widened. She followed them. And she was sure he had a good reason to be amazed when she saw what he saw.

Fire-red feathers with a golden glow, a slightly hooked beak, the tail feathers arranged like a merrygold's pedals when viewed from the rear and a crest of feathers atop its' head. The Storm's End. The Master of the Beasts. The Bird of the Tin Tower. It had many titles. Many legends. Many stories.

But it only had one name: Ho-Oh. Misty was looking at the legendary bird Pokemon Ho-Oh.

* * *

Ash looked at the Bird of the Tin Tower as it flew overhead like it did last time. There was one exception, though. Last time, it flew on straight ahead. This time, it looked at him, not moving its' head, but he could see the eye look at him with what appeared to be sorrow and regret. Ash barely got his Pokedex out to record the image, struggling with Misty. "Ho-Oh, the Rainbow Pokémon." the machine stated, much to Ash's hidden glee. Now no one could deny it: he saw Ho-Oh! "Ho-Oh's feathers glow in seven colors depending on the angle at which they are struck by light. These feathers are said to bring happiness to the bearers. This Pokémon is said to live at the foot of a rainbow."

Speaking of feathers, one fell from the sky, landing on the Pokedex. He saw Misty looking at Ho-Oh, just like him, but she couldn't stay awake, slumping over. "Duck…" '_Holy crap._' Psyduck said. "Psy-aye-aye…" '_I just saw freaking Ho-Oh, the most rare legendary of them all…_' Ash closed the Pokedex, putting it back in his jacket before continuing his run, heading for Viridian City. Bragging about Ho-Oh could wait: Misty's life was in the balance.

* * *

**Johto Region - 1048 hours local time**

* * *

While many Pokemon were playful, none were as powerfully playful as something that had mastered the art of battle dancing. And a blue bipedal crocodile had long since mastered the art. Still, even knowing and being involved with the Celebi incident and Ash going back in time, which he was not there for, Totodile was not happy with this. At all. One, Ash was in danger. Two, he wasn't in Kanto. Three, he was back in Johto. He hated Johto! This region was nothing but trouble and he was born here! The Unown and Celebi were incidents he hated for a good reason and he couldn't do a damn thing about Altomare!

So, immature as he could be, he wasn't a child. He needed to find the others and get to Kanto. So he rushed into the grasslands and forests, avoiding any trainer that wasn't his own… until a pair of vines grabbed him. "Chi." '_Hello, Totodile._' said the grass-type that snared him. Which just so happened to have a pear-shaped body, a leaf on her head and four limbs. A grass-type Totodile knew every well.

"To?!" '_Chikorita?!_' cried the croc. "Dile?" '_When—_' "Chika." 'Last night. I rushed to find you and Cyndaquil.' she answered. "Rita." 'She should be somewhere close by. We find her, we find the others, we go to Ash.' She let the young water croc down, allowing him to get his bearings. "Chi." 'We're safer together.' she said, using a vine line a human would a hand to gesture Totodile to follow her. "Ri." 'Come on, let's find our honey badger.'

Totodile blinked before following Chikorita. Finding the rest of the gang would be a lot easier together. Plus they could tackle any trainer that tried to catch them.

* * *

**Kanto Region, very outskirts of Viridian City - 1312 hours local time**

* * *

Misty was light, but carrying her around was becoming a chore, especially with her very torn and… exposing clothing. If it weren't for the situation they were in, not to mention Ash's personal vow to not treat her as anything but a friend and to never get involved romantically, he would be having very impure thoughts right now. Why did she have to be so beautiful?

'_Get your head out of the gutter, Ketchum._' Ash mentally chided, trying not to give in to temptation. By the time he went to Alola, he had five very beautiful girls as travelling companions and after turning 13 in Altomare, almost five years of self-trained restraint. It didn't help that Brock's antics were not only amusing, they helped remind him of how not to act.

That being said, he had been 12 when he made that vow and had a long time suppressing it. Now he was 14 and he wasn't prepared for… well, Misty. Fortunately, he had someone to keep him from doing something stupid. "Duck." wordlessly quacked Psyduck, who noticed Ash was trying - and often failing - not to look at his trainer's very attractive form. But the quack wasn't an objection, but more a '_look later; she needs help_'. Ash took the latter and ignored the former, as he picked up the pace, entering Viridian City's limits.

"Hold it!" Ash barely paid attention to the Jenny's yelling before she just grabbed his shoulder, stopping him and forcing him to face her. "Where do you think you're going?" the police officer demanded. "The Pokemon Center, where else?!" Ash retorted, holding Misty in his arms. "She has Pokemon that need help, she needs medical attention and I have no time for this!" The cop looked at him, then noticed the claw marks and heard Spearow in his backpack. She torn it open, finding him as clawed and injured as the girl, if barely any better because he was a Pokemon.

"That damned Spearow flock finally went insane." she snarled before grabbing her motorcycle. "Get in the sidecar: you won't make it to the center in time on foot!" Ash got into the sidecar with a groan, holding onto Misty before Psyduck returned himself to his ball, right before the bike rode off, probably breaking a few speed limits. Not that Ash cared.

* * *

**10 minutes later - Viridian City Pokemon Center**

* * *

Ash actually felt sorry for the local Nurse Joy. The tire marks were going to be a pain to remove. "How many times do I have to tell you, don't do that!" And speak of the devil, here came the local Joy, who looked outright pissed off. Apparently, the Jenny did this a lot more than he assumed last time. "You can wash the floors later!" the cop retorted as Ash got out, carrying Misty. "The girl needs medical attention: that Spearow flock finally went hostile and attacked her!" The Joy's rage went away, but did not disappear: the floor could wait. She had a job to do.

"Nurse Joy?" Ash asked before pulling the unconscious bird out of his bag. "This Spearow was attacked by the rest of the flock and needs help, too." "Did you catch Spearow?" asked the nurse before Ash shook his head. "No, I haven't; I was going to wait until he recovered before letting him go." he answered. The Pokemon medic grinned a little. "We never see trainers that just help wild Pokemon anymore." she said before gesturing for another stretcher for the bird. "We'll tell you when Spearow's alright. In the meantime, we'll set up a room for you and your girlfriend." the nurse said, smiling obviously. Ash growled at being called Misty's boyfriend. He had vowed to be forever single, never to repeat his father's mistakes with his mother.

Even if he wanted to be with her - and he did; contrary to popular belief, he did love Misty, May, Dawn, Serena, even Iris for all her flaws - he would never be his father. But the Joy didn't notice. And Ash was too concerned about Misty to bother ask for another room.

* * *

**Three hours later**

* * *

The bird's eye opened as he woke up, groaning. "Hey." Spearow turned his head to look at the human, who seemed happy to see him. "How do you feel?" asked the trainer. "Spear." '_Alive._' he said. "Spearow." '_So… I'm caught. I suppose I'm going to be fighting for you._' "No." the bird looked at the trainer, who Pikachu called Ash, in shock. He… wasn't going to be fighting?

"I haven't caught you. I wanted you to be ok before I let you go." the human explained. It wasn't an insult; Spearow were hot-blooded, not stupid. Ash was clearly honorable. The bird was wounded and vulnerable, yet Ash did not force him into a ball. "Spe?" '_Let me go?_' Spearow asked. "Spear." '_Because I'm not a Pidgey? Or because you don't want to catch me?_' "Because I want it to be your choice." Ash said seriously. "If you want to stay or go, it's up to you. Not me."

Spearow wasn't all that old. For a Pokemon, at least: most of them lived for 150 years or longer, depending on species. Spearow himself was 65 years old and had lived through the Cipher War and the beginning of the age of Shadow, the end of selfless trainers. He thought he would spend the next century and a half watching the world continue to get worse.

Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps this was the beginning of the return of the Golden Age. It was much to think about. Or was it? The young man saved his life, risking his own skin for no reward. He looked at the backpack, trying to find a pokeball. Upon finding the first red-and-white ball he immediately tapped it twice, willingly and instantaneously capturing himself.

* * *

Ash didn't expect this. If anything, he expected a thank you before Spearow flew off, plus he wanted to save his pokeballs for Pidgeotto and Caterpie. Still, he was going to have to get more balls if this kept happening. While he didn't want to throw pokeballs at everything in sight, he was going to have to stock up on more if this kept happening. He then grabbed the ball and let Spearow out.

"You know, you don't have to stay." he said to the bird. "Spear." '_I know. But I am. I have seen many humans in my life, but you are the most honorable and selfless._' the bird retorted. "Row." '_I am going with you. Like it or not._' Ash would have kept arguing had the door not opened, with the center's two Chanseys bringing Misty in, followed in tow by the local Joy. "Chan." '_She's all fixed up!_' cried the Lucky Pokemon as they put the girl on the bed and removed the stretcher from under her.

"She lost a fair bit of blood from those damned Spearow - no offense." she said before Spearow shrugged as best a bird could. "Spea." '_None taken._' he replied. "Clawing and pecking at her. Thankfully, she wasn't infected by anything they were carrying. Thank Arceus, too: prions are impossible to get rid of." the Joy finished.

"When will she get up?" asked Ash. "Not for a bit." replied the medic. "But there's something you—" before she could finish, the sound of smashing glass got their attention. "What was that?!" the doctor claimed as she ran out of the room, heading for the lobby. Ash, though… he knew damn well who that was. "And here I was hoping those three would never rear their heads ever again." he groaned as he looked at Pikachu, who, while not at 100% like last time, at least wasn't nearly dead. "Ready to deal with them?"

"Pika?" '_Do we _have _to?_' he moaned. "Chhhhhhuu." '_I'm tired of having to deal with them._' "Who's going to drive them off if not us? Misty's in no shape to do anything." Ash retorted as he opened the door, Pikachu dutifully following before Spearow came to join them.

* * *

**PMC lobby**

* * *

It was them, alright: red-haired Jessie with her far-too-short for Ash's taste shorts and top, bluenette James with those roses he always had before they went to Johto and of course, the talking Meowth.

"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie cried, making Ash roll his eyes. Six years. Six Arceus-damned years he had to endure that annoying motto and their rhymes.

"And make it double!" James followed up as Ash continued to try and ignore it. If it weren't for the fact that they could actually make passable trainers and when they weren't trying to steal Pikachu they were quite helpful and friendly, not to mention he wanted them to give up of their own accord, he'd've had Pikachu zap them into a coma and handed them to the Elite Four at the Indigo Conference!

"To protect the world from devastation!" Ash was pretty sure that was his job now. "To unite all peoples in our nation!" Under Team Rocket's thumb? Over his rotting corpse. Or theirs. Preferably theirs: he was getting really tired of these three and their thieving. And with that, he tuned out the rest of the motto.

"Meowth, that's right!" with the exception of Meowth speaking up. Now it was time to get to get to business and send these three flying into Mount Moon. "This Pokemon Center is now under the control of Team rocket!" James cried, waving his blue rose around like a wand. "Now, no one mo—" "Pikachu, thundershock!" ash commanded, with Pikachu jumping into the air and firing a weak lightning bolt at the Rockets, forcing them to seek cover.

"How rude!" Jessie cried. "Didn't your mother teach you manners?" "She did. She also taught me not to put up with members of a villainous team!" Ash retorted before Pikachu fired another discharge of electrical power at the Rockets, only managing to nail Meowth. "Dat ain't playin' fair…" said the scratch cat as he fell over, right before the other two sent out their original mainstays: Ekans and Koffing, who would evolve into Arbok and Weezing later on. Ash had an idea where they went - there was a Pokemon thief of much greater skill in Hoenn, where the two disappeared and contrary to popular belief, he wasn't stupid - but he did miss the days where they were generally incompetent. Oh, well, at least he could use them for training.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on that Koffing!" Pikachu jumped into the air, glowing a faint black. The three Pokemon and two Rocket trainers promptly needed a change of pants as Koffing was hit with black lightning, knocking it out and on the ground. "That thing's a shadow Pokemon!" cried James as he returned Koffing. "We need to get the hell out of here!" "And piss off the Boss?!" demanded Jessie, though she returned her own poison-type as well. "You know the regs, Jessie: do not engage a Shadow Pokemon!" retorted the bluenette, right before his rear end caught on fire thanks to an Ember hitting him as another window broke open.

"Char!" '_Surprise, assholes!_' cried a familiar and angry fire lizard as he fired more bursts of flaming oil at the Rockets. Ash didn't waste any time, even if he wanted to confirm it was who he thought it was. "Pikachu, hit them with everything you got!" he ordered. "Pika…" Pikachu built up power wordlessly. "CCCCCCCHUUUUUUUUU!" Then discharged it as a Shadow bolt, causing the roof to be blown off and the Rockets sent flying as the ground exploded under them.

At least those three were gone now. "Charm." '_Hello, Ash._' said the lizard as he walked up to Ash, hugging his leg. "Char…" 'I screwed up. I'm sorry for not listening.' Ash kneeled to hug the Kanto fire starter, trying to hold back his own tears. "It's ok. It's ok." he choked out. Then he heard a scream. "Char?!" 'Was that misty?!' demanded Charmander before Ash let him go, rushing down back to the room he and Misty were staying, throwing the door open.

The girl was sitting up in the bed, panting uncontrollably, looking around before her eyes locked onto Ash and she began to calm down. Before she launched herself at him, babbling. "I-I… I thought I was alone." she said, sobbing as she latched onto the young man. "Don't… please don—" "Uh… please let go of me." Ash asked. Misty ignored him and latched on tighter.

"That's enough, Misty." said the local Nurse Joy, who held a needle in her hands before Misty attempted to use Ash as a shield. "No! No!" she cried. "I need him! I need—" Joy shoved them onto the ground, laying on Ash's back before putting the needle into Misty's neck, injecting her with the contents. "No…" Misty moaned out before she fell unconscious, the pink-clad nurse getting off of Ash, who was blushing. "Sorry about that." she said as Ash rolled off of Misty, attempting to get himself under control. "Young Misty here has… problems." That got Ash's attention off of his old friend's… loveliness as he sat up. "Problems?" he asked.

"A lack of human contact in her life. Her sisters couldn't spend all that much time with her." the nurse explained as Ash unreasonably saw red. "Not that they wanted to abandon her, but seeing as they were gym leaders, not to mention the only real trainers in Cerulean, they had to stay out constantly to keep those damned Shadow Pokemon out of the population centers. Especially after their parents died."

With that, Ash's blood cooled. So they didn't really have a choice and if shadow Pokemon were so insanely dangerous - who was he kidding: Team Rocket fled when they had the chance when Pikachu used that Shadow Thunderbolt - taking Misty with them would only result in her getting hurt. Or killed. "So… who took care of her?" he asked the Joy, who sat on his bed as she let out a breath.

"The Gym's Pokemon took care of her. Hell, the Starmie helped school her." she said with an almost amused huff. "Her sisters, when they were there, did teach her how to talk, but she has difficulties with people. She's terrified of being alone. My cousin in Cerulean told every Joy in Kanto to watch out for her. And you saved her life from the birds." Ash didn't know what this meant and it showed on his face. The nurse groaned as she saw it. "She's going to be following you around because no other trainer would. Too concerned with saving their own skins." she stated with a huff of disdain. "Those birds only made her complex worse."

Ash facepalmed. "At least you'll have a girlfriend." Joy said before Ash glared at her. "Does it look like I _want _a girlfriend?" he demanded.

* * *

**Team Rocket local headquarters - Viridian Gym**

* * *

Holographic screens in front of Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket, displayed everything going on. A ring caught the black-haired man's attention, even as his Persian's ears twitched. It was… those three.

They were referred to as The Team Rocket Trio by the press. The most well-known and generally incompetent team he had, but they occasionally got lucky with rare Pokemon: once, they brought him a Zorua and Zoroark. Not often, but when they succeeded, they succeeded in a big way. Probably calling him about another failure. So he pushed the button and answered the call.

"What?" he demanded as the two humans and their Meowth appeared. "_Uh, sir, remember that attack on the Viridian Pokemon Center_?" James half-questioned. "I know you failed, if you're not carrying a bag full of Pokeballs." Giovanni snarked at them. Jessie laughed sheepishly. "_Well, you see… we have an excuse this time_." she said. Giovanni's eyebrow raised before a video appeared, showing a Pikachu charging up for an electric attack. "And?" he stated, right before the lightning fired turned out to be not gold-white, but black. A Shadow Pikachu.

"Well, at least your excuse _works _this time." said the rocket boss before the image shifted slightly to the trainer. He wore jeans, running shoes, a black undershirt and a jacket… with black hair covered by an official League hat and brown eyes. "Oh, shit." he said as he studied the image. His statement of 'oh, shit' turned out to be an understatement.

"That trainer." he said, brining the three morons back up. "I have new orders for you. You are to shadow the boy. Fight him as often as possible." "_To… steal his Pokemon_?" asked the redhead in confusion. "Yes. Do not screw this up. Am I understood?" stressed the Rocket Boss.

The TRio saluted, looking scared out of their minds. He couldn't blame them. That being said, he enjoyed it when they were scared. It was more fun that way. And he enjoyed people suffering from their own mistakes. So he lied. He made them think that he wanted them to steal that Pikachu, but their duties were to essentially train the boy.

He would rather not anger his mother.

* * *

Entry 2: Misty Waterflower

Born in AS48 (After Shadow Pokemon) to the leaders of the Cerulean City Gym, Misty Waterflower is the youngest of the Sensational Sisters and currently 14 years old. When her parents were killed in AS51, her sisters took over the running of the gym to give Misty a home and a life, but their duties forced them out of the building for days, weeks and even months, forcing Misty to rely heavily on the Pokemon at the Gym to teach her everything, to the point of a Starmie serving as a teacher. While her sisters taught her how to talk during the few times she was there, Misty began to develop a psychological problem that stemmed from her lack of human contact: panic attacks out of the feeling that she is alone. She will latch onto anything that stops them, usually her Pokemon, but she does desire human contact. To that end, she left the Cerulean Gym to find more Pokemon as well as someone to befriend her.

Recently, she has been sighted at the side of Ash Ketchum, a new trainer from Pallet Town. Orders to all Rocket Grunts: DO NOT ENGAGE. While she would make a bargaining chip in any dealings with the Cerulean leaders, Ash Ketchum has a Shadow Pikachu that, while seemingly purified, still retains its' Shadow moves and Ketchum will not hesitate to use them in her defense.

* * *

Entry 3: Charmander

The fourth Pokemon in the Kanto Pokedex, Charmander are rare in the wild, though not impossible to find. A pure fire-type until they evolve into Charizard, Charmander are cheerful and eager to please. When they evolve into Charmeleon, however, they become hard to handle, often disobeying their trainers. Only after a trainer proves they care for a Pokemon of this line without caring for their power do they gain their trust and obedience. It is commonly believed that a Charmander, or a member of the evolutionary line, will die if their tail flame is put out. Team Rocket scientists have disproven that statement, discovering instead that it is simply an indicator of their health and can be put out in water, only to relight after a brief drying period.

Ash Ketchum has been confirmed with a Charmander that knows a number of advanced, if underpowered, attacks, including Metal Claw and Iron Tail. As with all Ketchum Pokemon, do not engage, as this Charmander shows aggression levels only seen in _**Charizards**_ and will gladly kill your team in order to get to you to protect his trainer. Only Ketchum's direct and express commands for him to not do this have kept us from sustaining more casualties. Arceus knows how dangerous this thing will be when it evolves into Charizard.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: I think we know how dangerous that Charizard is going to be. And before you spam 'Giovanni's his father?' reviews, allow me to just say that Giovanni knows Delia and would rather not risk enraging her. Until a later point, that's all you get in regards to Ash's relationship with the Rocket Boss.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah - now, called in some more help to keep this guy in line. *Waves in the 'help'* Have fun!**

**Zaraki: This guy better put up a good fight.**

**Ron the True Fan: Son of a Protestant whore. Well, as I want to keep my head… (looks behind him before pointing at Zaraki) HE DID IT! (Hides before chained blades hit Zaraki's sword, turning out to be...)**

**Kratos: (Rage of Sparta plays) It was you? You were the one that attempted to kill me? YOU WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE THE END OF THIS DAY!**

***Zaraki grins, before leaping at Kratos, sword drawn.***

**Takeshi Yamato: Welp. This is going to be destructive. See you all next time, Readers!**


	4. Chapter 3: Forests, Sand and Memories

**Ron the True Fan: Time for the next chapter. Now, time to be very clear about this: Ash's Pokemon will be making an attempt to get to him. Some will get there sooner: all of his Kanto Pokemon are in the same region he is when he starts in, so all they have to do, really, is wait. Others will take time in getting there. But before Ash gets to Indigo, they will be reunited with their trainer. When? Well, that's for us to know. **

**As a bit of shameless plugging, as it were, there is a link to my YouTube account in my profile. If it doesn't work (And with FF, that's more then just a possibility) search for 'Housecoat Gaming'. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Viridian Forest, Kanto Region - 0748 hours local time - Day 3 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

Ash felt guilty leaving Misty back at the Pokemon Center. Really, he did. But he didn't want her getting freaked out by the massive number of bugs in the forest, especially when it came to finding Caterpie. Yes, he released him to find love. Yes, he knew he would never see him again if he did that again. He did not care: Butterfree was part of his family. And he would not abandon them.

And while he was looking, Spearow and Mimikyu were being brought up to speed on Ash's… situation. "Spear?" '_So… our trainer has gone back through time three times, saved the world at least four times and because the world came to an end, you and all of the Pokemon he had caught before were sent back in time to stop this from happening?_' asked the bird.

"Pika." '_More or less. I've been there from the beginning, so you're not getting the entire story. But then again, it took six years to get to now. You want the entire tale? It'll take a long time to tell._'

Pikachu said seriously as Ash looked around for a single caterpillar. '_Ash?_' asked a young-sounding voice before, out of the tall grass, came a Caterpie.

'_Ash, is that you?_' "Caterpie?" Ash asked in confusion. He didn't even hear a cry. …On the other hand, he never heard Caterpie say anything until he evolved to Metapod.

"How come I didn't hear you?" he asked.

'_Our cries are too low to be heard, plus we normally communicate with pheromones._' Caterpie said before the tone turned dangerous. '_So what the hell happened._'

Ash nervously chuckled before Pikachu stepped in. "Pika." '_Look, a lot happened after you left, Caterpie._' Pikachu started before there was a small explosion in the woods, followed by screaming.

"Oh, great." Ash said before looking at Caterpie, running towards the source. "We can explain after we deal with this!" '_Fine! But this better be good!_' Caterpie said as he looked at Spearow. '_Try to eat me, I will hurt you_.' "Spear." '_Hey, you're one of his. I have no reason to try_.' Spearow retorted before grabbing Caterpie in his claws and flying after Ash, who listened to the yelling.

'_Traitor! I'll dispose of you forth-with!_' yelled an aristocratic male voice. '_Don't even try, owl! And is that even your real accent?!_' retorted a pissed-off sounding female. '_I'll take you down with ease, what!_' the male said before the wind picked up. Ash knew a Whirlwind when he felt it, ducking and holding onto the ground before a Pokemon was sent out. It was tall and strong, though a bit smaller than the ones Ash knew. It was a Noctowl.

A Shiny Noctowl. _His _Shiny Noctowl. …What in the name of hell was Noctowl doing in Kanto?! And who was he fighting? '_Cur! A Whirlwind will not stop me! I'll see you fall!_' the male voice said, which was rather close, so Ash assumed it was Noctowl. '_Really? Taste this!_' more air hit the bird before another, faster bird shot out of the trees.

It was thinner, more streamlined, with white and brown feathers covering its' body. The only exception was the massive reddish-pink crest that came from the top of its' head and the red and yellow tail feathers. A Pidgeotto. And not any Pidgeotto. His third Pokemon. The one he let go and… never saw again. He would recognize it anywhere. '_Stay still!_' the female cried, which Ash knew had to be Pidgeotto.

'_Never! You abandoned your trainer!_' '_He let me go!_'

"Noctowl?" Ash started. The two birds stopped screeching before looking in his direction. "Pidgeot?" Ash was on the verge of tears at seeing his first bird. Five years he waited to see her again. Now… he was glad he went back.

"Otto!/Noc!" '_Ash!_' both birds cried as they rushed at him, wrapping their wings around him in a form of hug. A sentiment Ash returned as he started to cry.

"I'm sorry." he said. "I didn't come back."

"Geotto." '_I never came back because the flock needed me._' Pidgeotto said, her beak touching his cheek. "Pidg." '_They flew further and further away from Pallet Town and… I couldn't get them back there._'

"Owl." '_You left him._' Noctowl accused.

"Geot!" '_I tried to get them back there! But after that… bastard that tried to capture the Shamouti Legendary Birds screwed with the weather, they flew further away._' she yelled back.

Lawrence the Third. Ash only learned his name after Altomare, but now he had a reason to want to hurt him: because of that greedy obsessive bastard of a man, he not only forced the weather to go screwy, nearly killed him and Lugia, but because of him, Pidgeot never came back. "I was there." Ash quietly said. But the bird picked it up. "Otto?" '_What?_' she asked. "I was there. I stopped him at Shamouti. He nearly killed me because of his obsession with Lugia." the trainer choked out. "And because of him, I never saw you again!" Ash's repressed emotions in regards to that - anger at Lawrence's continued attempts to catch Lugia, rage at the fact that he nearly drowned, despair at Pidgeot never coming back - all came out in choked sobs.

Watching was Caterpie. '…_He dies._' the worm-like Pokemon stated. '_He tried to kill Ash. He nearly killed the entire world. He dies._'

"Spear?" '_That's rather bloodthirsty, don't you think?_' Spearow asked the bug-type.

'_Ash let me go so I could find a mate in the… other past._' Caterpie retorted. '_For all his flaws and there are _many_, he is too kind and did not deserve anyone trying to kill him because of their own personal greed._'

"Pika." '_Want me to tell you the story while Ash is bonding with the birds?_' Pikachu asked as he approached, knowing that Ash needed this. Caterpie nodded. He wanted to know what happened after he left.

As Pikachu explained, Ash tried to keep his first two birds from killing each other, though they kept fighting. While he was distracted, something made its' way to him. It was brown, wormlike, had a spike on its' head and had a large pink nose. And to try and get Ash's attention, it said its' name without saying anything. "Weedle." Ash looked down to see the little bug/poison-type on his leg. The two birds stopped arguing when they saw the bug, ignoring the other to attack the bug, knowing how dangerous the bug could be, remembering what happened when a young girl got a poison needle fired from a Weedle. So, they reacted as Pokemon that saw a threat to their trainer would.

Violently, as Pidgeotto fired a Gust at the Weedle, sending it flying while Noctowl prepared to use Air Slash to… get rid of it. Ash, who felt guilty, decided to go against his vow of avoiding catching any Pokemon not part of the family, tossing a ball at the Weedle, turning it to energy before Noctowl fired, the compressed air impacting the ball, only leaving a couple of scratches. "You guys didn't have to do that!" Ash chided as he grabbed the ball. "That Weedle wasn't hurting me!"

"Geotto!" '_But it could have!_' Pidgeotto retorted before Noctowl scoffed.

"Owl." '_Like you care._' the refined shiny said.

Before all-out war could break out among the birds, Pikachu began to spark dangerously. "Pika!" '_Enough!_' cried the mouse. Both birds stopped and looked at the young electric-type and their technical leader, if only by the fact that he, not they, was Ash's starter. "Chu." '_Let's find out what the Weedle wants before biting his head off, shall we?_' the electric-type said before he looked at Ash.

The trainer got the idea, releasing the Weedle, who rematerialized in front of them. "Weed!" '_I'm caught! I'm safe!_' the little brown caterpillar cried. "Weedle!" '_Finally, I'm safe from that insane nutcase!_'

Ash blinked at the Weedle's happy cries. "Uh…" Ash started as Weedle looked at him. "What nutcase?" With that comment, the Weedle's eyes widened as far as they could. An understandable reaction to a human understanding Poke-speech.

* * *

**Viridian Forest edge - roughly at the same time**

* * *

This was a bad idea, Psyduck had decided the second they came here. At least, that was what Misty felt from the duck Pokemon's expression. But she needed to be here. She needed to find… him. The boy that saved her from those Spearow.

He didn't save her because he wanted something from her, he saved her because he wanted to save her, because it was the right thing to do. And Misty felt… like he could be her friend. Her first, real human friend. She hadn't had too many people around when she grew up: there weren't enough children close to her age in Cerulean and her sisters were scared for her safety. So she was homeschooled by her sisters, when they were there, which was… not often and their Pokemon, which was almost all the time.

She had a lot of Pokemon back at the Gym, but she only brought Staryu, Starmie and Psyduck with her on her journey. Her sisters had objected, but she was 14: old enough to go out on her journey. They couldn't and wouldn't stop her. She didn't journey out to face the gyms, though: enough people did that.

Misty wanted to find a friend. And the boy… Ash… was a friend. He even left a note for her back at the Pokemon Center: 'Sorry I left, but I had to go to Viridian Forest to find a few Pokemon. I'll be back as soon as I can' it said. But Misty could not wait: she was hyperventilating and panicking from the minute she snuck out of the Pokemon Center.

"Duck." quacked her yellow, annoying but protective Psyduck, keeping her rooted down. It would delay the panic attacks she had. When she was around Ash, she felt calm, collected and… safe. She only felt that way around her sisters!

The duck paused, looking around. "Psy…" he quacked. Psyduck knew something was wrong. Misty didn't even come through Viridian Forest when she went to Pallet Town's outskirts: she went past Route 2. There were tales of a madman in the forest…

"Hello… girl." said a male voice from behind her. Misty looked behind her, seeing a young man a bit older then her wearing tattered samurai armor and unsheathing a sword from his belt. "What are you doing in my forest?" Misty did the smart thing and ran. At least until one of her feet was snagged on a rope. "Uh-uh-uh, little girl." the crazy maniac said as he licked his lips looking at her. "You're not going anywhere." Misty decided to do the only sensible thing.

She screamed.

* * *

Ash's head snapped in the direction of the scream. "Why didn't she wait?" he groaned as he ran towards the source of the scream, only to be grabbed in the claws of a flying-type.

"Geot!" '_You'll get there faster if I carry you!_' Pidgeotto cried. Ash could not argue with that: Pidgeotto knew Misty and liked her.

"Owl!" '_Put him down, parliamentary traitor!_' cried Noctowl as he flew after her and Ash, who got a minor headache from a little bit of information.

A parliament was a Noctowl's family, always together until they moved away by choice, only to return with a mate. They did not split apart unless one of them was caught by a trainer, as Ash had done. They didn't hold it against the trainer as it allowed the Noctowls to experience more. Besides, the owl Pokemon often outlived their trainers: they would return to their parliaments eventually, bringing back tales of their trainers.

Ash groaned as his nose began to bleed. Having the cultural knowledge of over 40 Pokemon species in his head thanks to Celebi was a pain in his ass. Still, it came in handy when it didn't threaten to split his head open. Fortunately, Misty's screams banished the headache as they arrived, Pidgeotto dropping Ash to the ground, nearly on his face. After picking himself up, not to mention checking on his hat, he saw Misty on the ground, rolling as what appeared to be the Samurai from the other timeline tried to hack at her with his sword.

Now, Ash wanted to order Pidgeotto to blow him away, but that would just put Misty in more danger. Then he remembered that he had… another option. His least favorite one. The handgun that was still in his backpack. He didn't want to touch the thing: he hated guns. In fact, the only reason he didn't throw it away was the suspicion that he would actually need it. It seemed that time had come.

So he got his left arm out of one of the straps, swinging it around to his front, quickly looking through it to find the L-shaped weapon before getting his hands on it, quickly racking the slide and pointing it at the Samurai. "Hold it!" the trainer cried as he took aim at the sword-happy nut, who stopped in his tracks just as he was about to swing the long sword again. "Let her go." The bug-type trainer from the other timeline was… a bit arrogant and insulting, but not harmful. This guy… he looked like the Samurai, but he looked unhinged.

Like Cyrus and Ghetsis. "You intrude in my forest." the Samurai said. "This is my forest. No one comes in… no one comes out!" He moved to swing at Misty, but the trainer from Pallet had a hand as lightning shot at the Samurai, connecting with the sword and electrocuting the one holding it. "Pika!" '_Get away from her!_' cried Pikachu as Noctowl flew overhead, having dropped him from his claws to zap the nut trying to kill Misty.

Now, the nervous system of the human body can take a fair bit of punishment, but there are just some things it can't handle. For example, a human can survive ten thousand volts so long as the amperage is perfectly calibrated to allow the person to survive, as Pikachu has always done in the past. Even at his worst, meaning when he met Ash, he shocked enough to irritate, not kill. But even then, it took a bit for a normal human (Ash having some subconscious Aura control, enough to shrug it off or at least endure it better) to recover from that. So the Samurai was stunned and unable to move. But that was the good news.

The bad news was that they made a lot of noise and forest Pokemon don't like the noise of anything that isn't caused by them, which is rather quiet, really. So the reactions of the forest Pokemon to this were… predictable. "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" wordlessly cried a large, 12 foot bee-like Pokemon with massive needles for arms with an equally big stinger. A giant Beedrill, probably a queen of a hive and she was pissed. Apparently, she decided to deal with this herself. "Drill!" '_You! You were never welcome in this forest!_' cried the Beedrill. "Drrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiilllllllllllllll!" '_Now you will leave! Or you will die!_'

The Samurai finally recovered from the zapping before facing the Beedrill, drawing the other sword on his belt as he did. "This is my forest! I rule here!" he cried before the Beedrill attacked, taking him into the air. As he went skyward, the Samurai dropped both of his swords.

Ash, being the very frugal boy he was, took one of the swords and took careful aim with it, swinging and freeing Misty from the rope. As he had less of a problem with swords, he didn't mind picking the other one up. After all, Misty would need something to defend herself as they made their way to Pewter, because there was no way they were going back to Viridian.

* * *

**Sometime later - deeper in the forest**

* * *

While she knew next to nothing about how to actually interact with people that weren't her sisters, Misty did know a few things. Mostly that hugging someone while they or you carried a sword was a good way to get hurt. So she waited until Ash wrapped the two weapons up in a spare canvas tarp to keep them from hurting people before giving him a big hug. This was twice that Ash saved her life.

"You could've stayed at the Pokemon Center." he said, much to Misty's shock. "You should've stayed at the Pokemon Center. I was going to come back after I was done anyways." Misty let him go, looking at him in shock. "But… But…" Misty began to babble and ramble unintelligibly before holding him again. Ash sighed, hugging her back.

As Ash hugged Misty, Pikachu glanced at the recent captures, grabbing them as he pulled them away. "Pika Pi, Chu." '_Okay, while Ash is taking care of her, we gotta take care of you._' He said.

"Weed?" '_Huh?_'

'Spear?' '_What do you mean?_'

"Pika," '_Ash has a very specific fighting style - fast and hard._' Pikachu said, "Chu, Pika." '_So, while we're killing time… might as well get the process of getting you two… _up to spec.' Pikachu had a rather odd and dangerous glint to his eye, which caused both Pokemon to gulp nervously.

Off to the side, Psyduck was watching and trying to back away. "Char." '_Where do you think you're going?_' asked the fire starter of Kanto as Psyduck backed into him. The toothy grin on his face made Psyduck want to scream for his mommy.

Or for Misty. But Misty was in no state to do ANYTHING, as she was still bawling her eyes out. This was going to be painful.

* * *

**18 hours later**

* * *

Pikachu felt rather smug. Apparently, threat of electrocution actually worked, especially for the caterpillars, who ran almost as fast as he could. Well, not that they could run NOW.

Cocoons couldn't exactly move very far.

Yes, in less then a day, Pikachu (and to a lesser extent, Charmander) had forced the two bugs to evolve. They weren't given much choice: it was learn Harden or suffer. It was for their own good, though: Pikachu knew Ash didn't care about evolving his Pokemon - he was the big example, after all - but sometimes, it was absolutely necessary. Especially for the bugs.

Sure they were strong to an extent, but Weedle and Caterpie were still very… _soft _targets, and soft doesn't really fit into Ash's battle strategy. He needs hard hitters who can strike hard and fast, exactly what Butterfree and Beedrill were born for. While _that _evolution would take time, at least for now they'd be safer in their Cocoon-like forms than in their wormy forms.

Butterfree was very much the more special-attack of the two: Confusion and Psybeam were big ones that Ash's particular one never learned under his care, but he had the basics thanks to his mate. Which he was not happy to not have: he loved that pink thing to death. But they'd find one another again, he knew it.

"Psyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy…" '_Get that crazy lizard away from us!_' moaned out Psyduck as Charmander tried to drag him back in like some insane monster. Pikachu couldn't blame Psyduck. He also didn't care.

"Pika, Pika-chuuuuuu." '_You have type advantage, can't you do it your…_" Pikachu said as he fully faced Misty's Pokemon.

The Mystical Pokemon were seriously beat up and Psyduck was trying to flee for the safety of Misty and her Pokeballs. "Ka?" '_What the…_' Pikachu said as he stared at the sight.

"Char!" '_MORE!_" Charmander cried. "Mander! Char!" '_I will not be the tiny flame lizard!_'

"Pod." '_And I thought I had issues._' said the now-Metapod to his Kakuna counterpart.

"Kuna?" '_What issues? You don't seem to have issues._'

Charmander then began attacking everything with fire. That turned into dragonfire in a few minutes as charmander learned Dragonbreath.

"Metapod, Meta." '_Oh, you'll figure it out sooner or later._' said the 11th Pokemon of the National Pokedex as the fourth madly attacked the water-types with purple fire.

* * *

**Sinnoh region - near Oreburgh City - 0530 hours local time**

* * *

Movement is something taken for granted by most. Some just don't care.

But for a small grass turtle, he loved to run and jump and have that ability again. Sure, Turtwig enjoyed his time as Torterra, virtually being a giant biological tank had its own set of pro's to it… but by the gods it felt _so _good to have _mobility _again. To be back as the small, agile little Turtwig was like a breath of fresh air. Upon waking up, the little Pokemon couldn't help but run his own little marathon around the forest in joy.

Old Clara was concerned when he ran into her and almost broke her shin, but that only confirmed it for him that he was in the past. After all, he was there during the whole Arceus incident. Meeting what was effectively God was an experience and a half, but… well.

He never wanted to go back. He wanted to be small, to be fast. He didn't hold the evolution thing against Ash, but he was not evolving into Torterra again.

"Char?" 'Torterra?' cried out a voice the grass-type knew too well. Then the form of a monkey with a burning tail appeared out of the woods, a heat mirage over his body, indicating that he was using his body heat to burn off spores and such. "Chim!" 'There you are!'

"Tur?" '_Wait… Infernape?_' The Turtwig asked, realization settling in. "Twig!" '_Holy Arceus! What… what happened?_'

"Chim. Char-chim chim." 'I'm not sure.' admitted Ash's Sinnohan fire-type as he stratched his head. 'Last thing I remember is fighting Noivern, then everything went dark. Next thing I know, I'm back in Sinnoh.' the fire monkey shuddered. "Chaaaaaaaaar…" 'I almost thought I was having a nightmare that I was back with that bastard Paul!' he said.

Turtwig could understand. Paul was the biggest asshole they had ever met, only getting better after Ash defeated him with their aid.

"Tur, Turtwig" '_Well, glad you managed to get away from the jackass before he balled you. So what are you doing next?_'

Chimchar tilted his head in confusion "Chim? Char?" '_Huh? Isn't is obvious? We gotta find Ash now! He must still be in Kanto if this really is us going back in time, we gotta find him and the others!_'

Turtwig looked at his fire-type starter counterpart. Go back?

Well, normally, Turtwig would be the first to suggest it: Ash was always trying to make them feel right at home. But that brought a problem to the turtle. What if Ash forced him to re-evolve to Torterra again?

"Turt." 'No. We're fine.' said the grass-type. "Tur-wig." 'If we're really meant to be with him, he'll come to us.'

"Char!" 'He's in Kanto! He can't drop everything and pick us up!' retorted the fire monkey. "Him." 'We _have to go to_ him.'

"Tur! Turtwig!" '_If he really cared for us, he would put it all aside and-_'

_Du-dun._

Turtwig blinked for a moment. "Tur?" '_Did you hear that?_'

"Char-" '_Hear what-_'

_Du-dun._

Chimchar stopped to listen. "Chim…" '_Now I do…_' he said as he looked around for what was causing it. There was… nothing.

Du-dun. Du-dun.

"Turt." '_This reminds me of that movie Mrs. Ketchum watched last week._' Turtwig said. "Wi." '_Before the whole… time travel thing._'

"Char!" '_I know what you mean!_' Chimchar said giving the grass-type a glare.

Du-dun. Du-dun. Du-dun. Du-dun.

The sounds stopped. Then repeated. Rapidly.

Du-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-

"GIB!" '_HI!_' *CHOMP*

"TWIIIIIIGGG!" '_GIIIBLEEE!_' Turtwig shouted as he started running around, with a certain land shark grappled to his back in a friendly CHOMP.

"Chim?" '_Gible?_' Asked Chimchar, "Char?" '_Is that you?_'

The dragon-type let go of Turtwig before opening his maw, orange-red energy gathering in a rather… worrying attack. One both Sinnohan Pokemon knew all too well. After all, one of Dawn's Pokemon was a frequent victim of it.

And then Gible used Draco Meteor, the fireball shooting into the sky and flying somewhere to the west. They assumed that's where Piplup was, anyways: those things were Piplup-seeking missiles.

"Gible!" '_Who else, fire-monkey?!_' cried the land shark… before his teeth sank into Chimchar with a CHOMP!

Chimchar winced slightly, but smiled as he petted Gible. "Chim, Chimchar…" '_It's… good to see you too, Gible…_' he said. '_Looks like you've made progress… how did you find us?_'

Gible just smiled with his massive mouth and his eyes. "Gib!" '_I'm a land shark!_' cried the… land shark as he let go of the monkey. "Gible-Gib-Gi." '_And sharks have a very good sense of smell and direction! I smelled you guys from miles away!_'

"Turt." '_I don't think it works that way._' said Turtwig as he nursed the bite marks. Gible was a friendly Pokemon, but he had VERY sharp teeth.

"Gible." '_Then how did I find you?_' asked the finned pokemon as he leaned to one side like a confused human would their head. They had no answer, but if a Sharpedo could find someone in the water, a Gible could certainly do it on land.

"Chim, Chimchar!" '_Well, glad to see you Gible - now we can probably find Ash a lot quicker now!_' Chimchar exclaimed, "Char?" '_You… _can _dig under oceans, right?_'

"Gib!" '_Totally!_' Gible smiled with a thumbs up.

"Turtwig…" '_Waste of time…_' Turtwig grumbled, "Twig…" '_We're better off on our own…_'

Chimchar was fully prepared to beat some sense into his type-disadvantaged friend… but he didn't need to.

"Giiiiiiiii…" went Gible as he gathered power into his maw. Turtwig didn't have any reason to worry: it wouldn't hit him.

"BLE!" It was then released into a Draco Meteor… that hit Turtwig in the face and exploded with enough force to make a small crater. Turtwig, though, was still alive, if very bruised. "Turt?!" '_What the hell was that for?!_' cried the little grass turtle as he finally recovered. Gible said nothing, only drawing in more power for another Draco Meteor. And Turtwig knew that last one was low-powered: if this one hit, he'd need medical attention.

"Twig, Twig! Twig!" '_Whoa, Whoa, WHOA!_' The Turtwig shouted, ducking behind a tree "Turtwig! Twig!" '_Gible! The fuck is wrong with you?!_'

"Gible!" '_YOU are my problem!_' said Gible. "Gible, Gib! Gib, ble le!" '_Ash did what he could to help you when you evolved! And you obeyed him afterwards because you trusted his judgement! So, why in the name of Arceus' ringed ass aren't you trusting him NOW?!_'

Turtwig wanted to scream at Gible. Rage and vent. But Gible had a point. Most of this wasn't even pointed at Ash: it was all because he was unable to run, jump and be the fast little attacker like Ash usually was. It wasn't hate of Ash. It was hate of what he would and did evolve into.

Chimchar sighed as he stepped up next to Gible "Chim… char?" '_Turtwig… what about the others?_' He asked, "Char, Char!" '_All our friends, all of Ash's friends! Your _teammates! _Do you just want to turn your back to them too?_'

Damn it. Turtwig had his problems, but he could get over it. If he evolved, he evolved. "Turt." '_Fine. We make our way to Ash._' he said. "Turtwig, wig." '_What about the others? They were caught all over Sinnoh._'

Gible stopped looking angry and eyesmiled like normal. "Gible!" '_Leave it to me!_' said the dragon-type as he sniffed the air. Much like sharks and Sharpedo, Gibles had very good senses of smell. "Gib!" '_I smell Staraptor! He's this way!_' Gible then jumped into the ground, making a VERY impressive tunnel.

And the mysterious music returned.

Du-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun…

"Char." '_I'm not going to ask how that works._' Chimchar said as he jumped into the hole, Turtwig following moments later, bidding farewell to Sinnoh. At least for now.

Turtwig knew damn well they'd be back to deal with Cyrus. And hopefully crush his head this time.

* * *

**Hoenn Region - 1145 Hours Local Time - Route 106**

* * *

It was never a good thing to be rare, Treecko mused as many trainers watched a massive convoy of Treecko and Taillow move on the shoreline. Some even pulled out Pokeballs or, strangely, firearms. However those with firearms seemed to just let them be, while those with Pokeballs just had their balls smacked away. This convoy of theirs was making it to Kanto, one way or another - and no trainer aside from Ash was going to stop them.

"Tree." '_I KNOW that damned shellfish is around here somewhere._' said Treecko. "Cko." '_Silly bastard._' Corphish was a comedian. He liked making his fellow Pokemon laugh. In fact, he turned down a lot of opportunities to evolve into Crawdaunt just for the sake of being funny.

The 'convoy' was not hard to protect, though the humans were likely going 'the hell's going on?'. The Treecko clan were asking that themselves: their tree was dying, then their most promising guardian and a Tallow say they can lead them somewhere where trainers will never attempt to capture them.

"Tree?" '_You see anything yet?_' Treecko asked.

"Tail… Taillow? Taillow!" '_No, not… wait, huh? Aha! I see Corphish!_'

"Tree!" '_Really, where?_' The Grass-type looked over… and saw a whole lot of Corphish on the beaches below.

"Taillow…" '_A lot…_'

"Treecko." '_I thought you saw OUR Corphish._'

"Tail, Taillow!" '_When I said Corphish, I meant a lot of Corphish! …that _is _the way you pronounce a group of them, right? Not Corphishes? _'

Treecko's right eye twitched in annoyance. "Treee…" '_I don't care how you say it-_'

"Pish!" '_Hey, guys!_' said one of the red crawfish as he walked out of the water and approached them, claws open and with a joking expression on his face. "Corphish!" '_I was wondering what happened! So… Celebi or Dialga?_'

"Tail!" '_No idea, red crab!_' said Hoenn's local normal/flying-type. "Low, Tailow, Tail!" '_But we're heading to Kanto! Gotta find Ash!_'

"Cor! Corphish, phish!" '_Sweet! One sec, gotta pack my things!_' The crab-like Pokemon said, before returning to the horde.

"…Tree?" '_Things?_'

A few minutes passed before Corphish returned… dragging a large burlap sack behind him, with what looked like a rubber chicken head poking out of it.

"…Tail?" '_Uh… what's with the… bag?_'

"Cor! Corphish, Phish Cor!" '_Oh, its all my props!_' The water-type explained, digging into the bag, pulling out a series of odd devices from within. "Phish!" '_Think fast!_'

Treeko blinked as something was sent flying to him, as he caught…

…a severed human hand.

"TREE!" '_SWEET ARCEUS!_' He shouted, tossing it away… only as Corphish laughed.

"Cor! Corcorcorcor!" '_Hahahahahaha!_' The crab laughed, "Corphish, Cor!" '_Relax buddy, its fake!_'

"Tail… Taillow…" '_I see you're even more of a joker here, Corphish…_' The flying-type sighed.

"Cor, Corphish!" '_That ain't nothing, check out my ventriloquist act!_' Corphish said, as he dug into his sack again, pulling out what looked like a small, but fake, human skeleton.

"Taillow." '_Corphish, you can't speak human, you don't have fingers, you can't-_'

"SILENCE, I KILL YOU!" The puppet shouted out, causing both Pokemon to jump in surprise.

"…T-Treeko…" '_H-How the fuck did you do that?_' Treeko asked.

Corphish simply smirked. "Corphish, Cor." '_An artist never reveals their secrets, Treeko._' the crayfish Pokemon said as he put the skeleton away.

Taillow landed beside the defeater of Drakrai. "Tail, tail, looooow." '_Well, at least they'll be entertained by the crab._' she said.

"Tree." '_He's a crayfish._' retorted the tree gecko Pokemon. "Tail!" '_Same freaking thing!_' replied the bird as she took to the air.

At least this would be an interesting journey as they searched for Torkoal and Snorunt. As soon as they had all five, they'd make their way to their home away from Ash: the Oak Ranch. If this weird world didn't kill them first…

* * *

**Unova Region - Desert Resort - 0551 hours Local time**

* * *

Ash came here thanks to those idiots from Team Rocket, but it was sunnier then, mused the grass snake as her feet roasted on hot sand.

The Desert Resort was a misnamed location in Unova. It was torturous and painful, the only things surviving here without assistance being ghosts and ground-types as well as the occasional grass or rock-type.

So why in the name of Arceus' ringed rear end and her three pain in the ass children did Sandile's scent lead them HERE?!

"Sni… Snivy…" '_I hate sand…_' The Pokemon groaned, "Sni, Sni, Snivy, Sniv…" '_Rough, coarse, irritating… and it gets _everywhere… '

"Tepig." '_Do _not _quote that movie_.' said the fire-type. "Tepig-pig." '_Other then the awesome action scenes, it _sucked.'

"Sni, Snivy!" '_Yeah, like this ARCEUS-DAMNED DESERT!_' Snivy snapped back. "SNIVY!" '_SANDILE, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE, I'M SICK AND TIRED OF THIS SHITTY SAND!_'

"Dove." '_I can carry you if you want,_ your highness.' Pidove suggested half-mockingly before Snivy glared at her. "Sni!" '_Oh, don't you_-' she started to say before she noticed something.

She was sinking.

Into very, VERY hot sand. Anyone in the desert knows this is a bad thing.

"SNI-VY!" '_FUCK! THE! DESERT!_' Snivy shouted as she slowly began to sink into quicksand.

The other two just laughed at her misfortune. "SNIVY, SNI!" '_When I get out of this, I will MURDER YOU!_' she screeched as she was finally swallowed by the desert like so many other things.

"Tep." '_She deserved it,_' said the fire pig. Pidove just nodded her head.

Meanwhile, Snivy was sinking through the sand. Contrary to popular belief, grass-types DO need air and the sand was crushing her body. She wouldn't last much longer if there wasn't an exit or something. Fortunately, there was.

She finally dropped out of the sand. And landed back-first on a rock.

Sucks to be her.

"Ro!" '_Ow! Hey, watch it you stupid…_' "Ro?" '_Wait… Snivy?_'

Snivy groaned before glancing down from the rock she had landed on… only for it to not be a rock, but rather a familiar rock-type pokemon.

"Sni… vy_…_" '_Oh… Roggenrola… Hi…_' Snivy groaned, rubbing her head. "Snivy?" '_You wouldn't happen to have seen Sandile around here, would you?_'

"Rol." '_I'm not sure._' said the mantle Pokemon as she (as a rock-type, Roggenrola were technically gender neutral but for their personalities) bobbed her only real sensory organ. Snivy facepalmed as she cursed her own stupidity. She was so used to Roggenrola being a Boldore she forgot that they only had one real sense: hearing. No sense of touch or sight until they evolved those crystals. "Sni." '_I'm an idiot._'

"Rog." '_Hey, I miss having my front legs. No big deal,_' replied the little rock-type. "Roggen." '_But we can check. For all we know, he's in here._'

"Sni." '_I doubt we're that lucky…_' Snivy groaned, "Sni, Snivy." '_Anyways, Teipig and Pidove should be right above us… doesn't the quick sand bother you by the way?_'

"Rog." '_Rock-type, why would it?_'

"…Sni." '_Point._'

The two continued to walk through the relic castle before Roggenrola made a wincing sound. Snivy didn't notice anything except that the ground was cooler. Much cooler. And more… welcoming. It was at that point she looked down at the sand, which was no longer the brown she was unfortunately used to.

It was almost black. And moist. Like water was… poured on it. She then looked up ahead to see a large mass with what looked like a pair of bumps on its' back. A water-type. An armless water-type.

One she knew and not from her days in the wild. "Snivy!" '_Palpitoad, is that you?_' she cried out before the Pokemon in question turned to face her.

"Pal?" '_Snivy? What are you doing here?_' The amphibian pokemon questioned.

"Sniv, Sniv." '_Looking for Sandile… ran into Roggenrola though, and you, so… we're on the kinda-right path I guess…_'

"Palp!" 'Y_eah, I woke up in my old pond with my gang of Timpole. I didn't mind seeing them again, but_…' Palpitoad said, drawing out the last part. Snivy got it, though: it wasn't Oak's ranch and it wasn't with Ash. It didn't feel like home anymore. He didn't even need to say how he got here: probably looking for Sandile in the first place that was normally associated with the sand crocs.

"Rol." '_Aren't you a water-type?_' asked Roggenrola. "Rog." '_I think you can swim._'

Palpitoad didn't hold it against the rock-type: easy to make that mistake. After all, they heard the tales of Misty's Psyduck. Arceus, wasn't that duck a disgrace to the type. "Toad, Palpi." '_I can't swim across an ocean, Roggenrola; I can barely make it across a small lake as I am now._' he said to the mantle Pokemon. "Palp." '_I can survive the oceans, I just won't make it far until I get chomped by something that ISN'T Gible._'

"Sni." '_Fair enough._' Snivy nodded, "Sni, Snivy." '_Come on, Teipig and Pidove should be nearby, together we should be able to find Sandile… hopefully…_'

"Palp!" '_I know, I been following his scent!_' cried the water/ground-type before he looked at them both, who didn't believe him. "To." '_Yes, I CAN smell things. I just prefer not to._'

"Snivy." '_Evidence to the contrary_…' muttered Snivy before she marched ahead of the two type-disadvantaged Pokemon. It was certainly true about what Palpitoad said: he was a lake Pokemon. The only thing that could cross an ocean from Unova to the Decolor Isles was a Basculin. And those bastards were terrified of Magikarp.

Not only were those scales hard enough to break their teeth, Magikarp had long memories. And they remembered whoever pissed them off when they eventually evolved into Gyarados. And only electric-types fucked with Gyarados and lived.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tepig and Pidove had entered the ruins. And Tepig was immediately locked in the jaws of something that wasn't Gible.

He knew what Gible jaws felt like: that land shark LOVED to bite. No, these were long and narrow with cone-shaped teeth. Attached to a head with black, beady eyes and protected by dark scales. And it vaguely looked like one of those crocodiles from the Ranger Union states, only tan and a Pokemon.

"Sand!" '_Tepig! I knew I smelt something familiar!_' The little Crocodile cheered.

"Te, Tepig Te." '_Good, there ya are Sandile. We were looking all over for you._'

"Sandile! Dile!" '_Great! So… time travel I guess?_' said the sand croc as he released Tepig from his jaws.

"Pidove." '_We're all in our younger bodies, we're not at the ranch… kinda obvious._' stated the bird as she settled on the sandy floor before jumping at the hot temperature of the grains. "DOVE!" '_Good Arceus, that burns!_'

"Sand." '_I wouldn't know. Seems perfect._' said Sandile. "Dile…" '_Though I'm a reptile: I like it hot…_'

"Pig." '_Can we find Snivy and leave? I think we all hate deserts by now_.' said Tepig as he tried to shake the grains of sand from his hooves.

"Sand!" '_If someone can hold onto this_.' said sandile as he reached into the sand and produced… an egg.

Both of the Pokemon blinked as they looked at the Egg, blinking. "…Dove…?" '_Sandie… where did you get that egg?_'

"Tei…" '_Don't tell me you're a…_'

"Sandile! Sand! Sand!" '_Wha? Nononono!_' The Reptile pokemon shook his head. "Sandile!" '_Its Scraggy's egg!_'

…Ok, that made a surprising amount of sense. Scraggy as a whole were native to the Desert Resort.

That aside, they needed to find the others and get home. "Tep." 'Think you can find-'

"SNI!" '_FUCKING SAND_!' cried a familiar voice. Tepig sighed before he looked down a sandy slope, finding Snivy… with friends. "Tepig?" '_Where did you find those two?_' asked the fire pig as he stared at Palpitoad and Roggenrola, with Snivy climbing on the water-type.

"Sni, Sni." '_In the ground, now that we've found everyone, can we PLEASE get out of here?!_' She exclaimed.

"Rog, Rogge." '_Question, exactly how are we going to get to Kanto?_' Roggenrola asked.

Everyone turned to Sandile. His… stalking of Pikachu was almost legendary. As were the tunnels he made to follow Ash and his starter.

Roggenrola got the idea, but still sighed in her own way. It sounded odd, like a low whistle. "Roggen." 'I'll reinforce the tunnels as best I can.' she said. "Rol." 'Just… TRY to keep us away from deep water, please.'

"Sni." '_We're not done yet_.' Snivy stated bluntly. "Snivy, vy, Sni." '_Oshawott and Leavanny, remember_?' The grass snake then thought about it. "Vy." 'I _suppose "Swaddle" is more accurate at the moment, isn't it_?' she half-stated, half-questioned.

"Rog… Rogge!" '_Whatever, let's just get moving… the sooner we find them, the sooner we can get to Ash!_'

"Palpitoad!" '_Agreed!_' The frog-like Pokemon agreed.

* * *

**Johto Region - the town of Eggster - 701 hours local time**

* * *

Eggster was the egg capital of Johto: if there was a better place to breed and raise Pokemon, it was probably in the Alola region.

Which was why everyone was shitting bricks as something smashed into a daycare and stole an egg. But the behavior of this Pokemon didn't make sense, as it was not an egg-eater nor a kleptomaniac. If that was the case, the building would've been more reinforced.

But there was a reason this Pokemon stole an egg.

To the Heracross, it was family. He woke up on a tree, in Johto, FAR from his preferred home in Kanto. And he wasn't a happy bug-type. Thankfully, he decided to search for whoever he could. Which brought him to Eggster. And to the flying-types trying to down him.

He would be tempted to roll his eyes if it were possible as he darted from the trees, avoiding the flock of Pidgeys and Pidgeottos. The bug-type would admit they were good, but after his sparring matches with Ash's own vast array of flying types, they were pushovers compared to them as he weaved through the trees to find a place to hunker down and wait for them to miss him over.

Seriously, Noctowl and Swellow were dangerous as hell, Staraptor was all about the brawling, Unfezant was agile as a kite and Talonflame was a Arceusdamned flying/fire-type! What would a bunch of tiny birds and half-evolved birds of prey do to someone that fought League-worthy monsters like them on a regular basis?

The only bird he was actually scared of was Ash's former Pidgeot. Still, he had few problems getting away.

But those few were all trees with exposed sap. Heracross was like another person with a problem. But unlike everyone's favorite bald badass XO, he never really tried to break the habit. He wanted to clamp down on a tree and suck that sap out until he was gorged. Then he remembered the egg.

Phanpy's egg. His little brother, waiting to hatch and be the little rock elephant he was until Hoenn.

Eventually Heracross gained a lot of distance from the flock of birds, as he finally spared a moment to take a short break - finding cover in a hollowed out tree trunk. Hiding inside, he sighed in relief, setting the egg down for a moment - but then he heard something approaching from outside, and his eyes narrowed as he prepared for a possible fight…

"Cyn?" '_Heracross? Is that you?_'

Heracross blinked. No, that couldn't be… "…Cross?" '_Cyndaquil?_'

With those almost always-closed eyes, a cream-colored belly and blue fur on her back, with short limbs, it was none other then the adorable and dangerous Cyndaquil. Or as Heracross knew her, Ash's Quilava. Ash never really got a feel for most of his Pokemons' genders, assuming, unless there was something clear and obvious, that they were male.

On the other hand, the Cyndaquil line weren't exactly dimorphic to begin with: you could only tell males and females apart by scent!

"Cross." '_Nice to see you, Cyndaquil_.' said the fighting bug as he carefully held Phanpy's egg. "Her." 'W_here are the others_?'

"Cynda." 'Not too far; I think they were looking for me.' said the fire honey badger. "Quuuuil." 'Once we find them and Noctowl, we can head for Kanto: I want to be as far from Johto as a wild Pokemon as possible.' Heracross didn't blame her: that Koji person he was told about was obsessed with catching her and she was only safe with Ash.

"Her, Hera!" '_Sounds good, well you best lead the way._' He nodded. '_I'll look after Phanpy._'

"Cyn! Cyndaquil!" '_Ah! I was about to ask about that._' she said as she looked around. "Cyn." 'Have you seen Noctowl?'

Heracross thought about it. He'd seen a few, but no shinies. Shame, because Heracross could see where Quilava, or rather Cyndaquil at the moment, was going with this.

Totodile and Bayleef, or Chikorita as she was now, were light and easy to carry, but Heracross couldn't carry them, Cyndaquil AND Phanpy's egg. Split the load and they could fly straight to the ranch, get information from one of Ash's captures or something and rejoin the family.

"Hera, Cross." '_No, plenty of non-shinies, but not our Noctowl. Our best bet may be to find Totodile or Chikorita._'

"Cyn, Cynda! Qui." '_About a good as plan as any, so let's get moving!_' Cyndaquil said before sniffing out their teammates. They were a few miles off, but they did have a flying bug, so she gestured Heracross to take off, which he did before latching onto his leg.

"Quil!" '_That way!_' she cried, pointing with her snout before firing off an ember. The ember Heracross saw and followed. It was time to reunite.

* * *

**Kalos Region - Santalune Forest - 0207 hours local time**

* * *

"Frok." '_You are _incredibly _heavy, did you know that_?' Froakie said to Goomy as the soft tissue Pokemon narrowed his beady little eyes.

"Goo." '_I'm 91% water, ninja boy_.' retorted the slug-like dragon. "Goomy." '_Water is rather heavy. I thought you knew that, being a water-type_.'

"Frokie." '_I am, but at least I'm not _made _of water. I need to be mobile otherwise I'd be a very poor ninja_' he retorted.

"Fletch." '_Would you two _shut up?' demanded Fletchling as she flew overhead, keeping an eye out for trainers. During their trek, they had run into a few… odd… discoveries. One, Kalos was in bad shape, at least from a human standpoint. The light from Prism Tower wasn't lit and the few human towns they couldn't avoid on their path either didn't exist or were in ruins.

This was not a good sign. "Goo." '_Are we… sure Vaniville Town even exists?_' asked Goomy. "Goomy, omy." '_That ranch with the Gogoats you told me about wasn't there when we reached where it was supposed to be._'

"Frok." '_I… don't know…_' Froakie admitted, "Ki, Fro, Frok." '_So much is the same, but so much else is different… something happened to the world, or is _still _happening… and I don't like it…_'

"Goo." '_Yeah… I'm starting to notice that too…_' Goomy mused.

"Haw." 'We need to be ready.' the fighting/flying type said as he carefully held Noibat's egg. "Lucha." 'And I don't mean for battle.'

"Fro." 'Explain.' demanded the ninja frog.

"Hawlucha." '_What if Ash is dead? Or doesn't even _exist?' Hawlucha said rather darkly.

"Froak." '_No, he exists._' Froakie said firmly.

"Goo." '_How do you know?_'

"Froak, Froakie." '_Battle Bond is something unique between me and Ash. While I can't transform into my greater form as a Froakie, that bond cannot be broken. I can _feel _Ash, he _is _alive in this world. We just need to find him._'

"…Haw, Haw." '_Oh… well, that takes a load off my back._'

"Froakie-froak." '_Considering all that's happened, you were right to assume the worst_.' Froakie stated without malice or scorn. If it weren't for the distance and his pre-evolved state, he would be able to clearly tell Ash they were on their way. For now, this would do.

"Goo." '_Ok, Fletchling, find us a path free of people_.' stated the pre-evolved pseudo-legendary. "Goo-my." '_We're going to get to Ash's mate today_.'

"…Froak?" '_Which one?_' Froakie asked. "Froakie." '_Pikachu told me he's had multiple travel companions that could be counted as 'mates'. Like that Misty girl._'

"Goo." '_I mean Serena_.' Goomy said before trying to grin evilly. From the look on Hawlucha's face, he succeeded. "Gooooooooooomyyyy…" '_But I don't mind the _other _girls trying to get with him, too_…'

With that creepy moment, they decided to just stay silent and wait for Fletchling to come back.

* * *

Entry 4: Snivy and Snivy family structures: The term 'smug snake' did not come from snakes such as the black mamba or the cobra, but Snivy. The seemingly-always-half-closed eyes are, in fact, as wide as they can get. This is due to the structure of a Snivy's skull, which, like most snakes, also contains heat pits.

Snivy as a whole are a prideful Pokemon, being one of only two snake-like Pokemon with limbs, those including its' evolved form, Servine. They are also picky about their trainers, outright abandoning them if they do not match their high standards. However, if they are caught and the trainer meets or exceeds those standards, Snivy adopt the trainer into their family group. Ash Ketchum's Snivy abandoned her Unovan trainer and joined the boy for reasons unknown to Team Rocket, but clearly the boy meets her expectations and then some. Pokemon translators have said she calls him 'my stupid brother' at times.

As with all Ketchum's Pokemon, DO NOT ENGAGE. Snivy is one of the more dangerous low-evolved Pokemon he has and has no qualms over killing our grunts. Only his reluctance to allow it has kept them from getting strangled.

* * *

Entry 5: Gible 'bite' customs: Gibles are small, friendly Pokemon for the most part, with large teeth and a general form that made early Sinnohans call them 'land sharks', as, much like Sharpedo and the non-Pokemon _Carcharodon carcharias_, the species has a large dorsal fin.

While Gible has fully articulating hands, the arms they are attached to are short and useless for anything but guiding food into the massive maw of the Gible. Instead, Gibles have adopted another way to express themselves: using their bites.

Most inexperienced handlers in Team Rocket will be very familiar with the hard, blood-drawing and sometimes hand-removing bites of the few times we have ever had a Gible here, but for the most part, Gibles do not draw blood. If displeased, they bite, but only hard enough to hurt, not inflict injury. If pleased and affectionate, the Gible will often bite on the person's head, only hard enough to stay latched on. Licking is also common, but only if the Land Shark Pokemon cannot bite.

Gibles are the only members of the Garchomp line of Pokemon to bite: the jaw muscle control of Gabite and Garchomp is rather weak, meaning they only have one 'setting' as it were: hard. Team Rocket recommends to keep Gibles contained in plastic cells: they eat metal.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Goomy's an Amourshipper. That's not unexpected. Also, remind me to bill Take for siccing ZARAKI of all people on me: the fight between him and Kratos destroyed an entire world!**

**Takeshi: I wasn't expecting you to counter him with Kratos! **

**Ron the True Fan: Take, unless there was another option to counteract the Red Hulk with a Meat Cleaver, Kratos WAS the only option. Plus side, at least you won't be siccing anyone ELSE on me.**

**Takeshi: No, but we do still have the hammerloli and Ikkaku.**

**Ikkaku: ORAORAORA!**

**Vita: **_**GIGANTE CRUSHER!**_

**Ron the True Fan: Know what, I've had enough of this shit. (Snaps fingers and they disappear) It was amusing the first time and the second. After the god-match, it got annoying. Anyway, time for some basic Q&A for our readers. Might as well get the obvious out of the way.**

**Question 1: Will your OCs show up?**

**Ron the True Fan: The short answer? HELL no. Others, yes, but not them. Jorn, mind taking the field for the long one?**

**117Jorn: What long one?**

**Ron the True Fan: The long answer to whether or not the usual suspects (Jaden Takeo, etc) show up in this fic. **

**117Jorn: Ah, well while Jaden Takeo and our usual OC's will not appear, we HAVE prepared a new cast of characters we plan to unveil later on in the story - you won't have to wait long mind you, but please be patient. **

**Ron the True Fan: Also, note that all of the girls in Ash's harem are VERY broken in some way or form. And Jorn's still pissed about Dawn. (hears racking of shotgun) …And line was crossed.**

**Ja Ne! (BANG!)**


	5. Chapter 4: Badges and Surprises

**Ron the True Fan: …Did he HAVE to load that thing with phosphorus buck? Also, disclaimer's pointless. On with the—(BANG!) OH, COME ON, JORN!**

**117Jorn: I can **_**tolerate **_**Dawn being with Ash for this fic, but you adding salt on the wound CROSSES A FUCKING LINE! **

**Takeshi Yamato: In case you can't tell viewers, Jorn likes to pair his OC's up with Dawn in Pokemon fics. But since this is gonna be a primarily Ash fic… yeah, there is some conflict in interest here.**

* * *

**Viridian Forest, Kanto Region - 2105 hours local time - Day 3 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

She was beautiful. Ash never really took the time to notice it before: when they first met on Route 1 in this timeline, he was more focused on saving her life and the next time, he was trying to keep her from melting down into madness.

Now, though, as she slept, he could notice her… well, womanly curves. But even Ash had to admit, he was not prepared for it.

'Focus, Ketchum.' he thought to himself. 'Don't be a pervert. Or worse, Brock. You have a job to do and it does not involve indulging in your fantasies involving your travelling companions!' With that, he finally looked away from Misty's sleeping form and got to his feet, pacing.

"What could've changed history so badly?" he asked aloud, quietly so Misty wouldn't wake up. "It had to be really bad."

"Cele, bi bi…" '_You can blame Orre and Cipher for that…_' Ash's head rose up, as the familiar form of a very, _very _tired Celebi landed before him.

"Celebi?" Ash questioned. "What are you talking about?"

"Celebi, Bi, Cele." '_In the original timeline, there was a group called Cipher that used a process on Pokemon that caused the doors to their hearts to shut artificially. However back then, it never grew out of control and the situation was contained in Orre… but here? It didn't… it spread all across the world, infecting Pokemon like Pikachu. Cipher wanted an army… instead they created a plague that's been tormenting humans and Pokemon alike._' said the pixie Pokemon. At that moment, Ash remembered something very, very important.

That bastard from Johto, the Iron-Masked Marauder. His pokemon looked dead inside. "Bi." 'Sadly, yes, you've run into them.' said Celebi, bringing Ash out of his thoughts. "Cele." '_And I was turned into one._' Well, that confirmed it. And only made Ash want to actually kill him now. Before, he was content with breaking his legs and leaving him for the courts. Now he wanted to kill the bastard.

"I'm not giving him the chance." Ash stated with finality. Pikachu nodded in full agreement.

"Bi." 'Ash, I was purified.' she stated, knowing where Ash was going. "Brrrrri." 'And once a Shadow Pokemon goes back to normal, you can't turn it back into a Shadow. Even if he hits me with one of those torture balls again, all it will do is just hurt a lot.'

To Ash, that changed nothing. The bastard still died. No exceptions.

"Still, he's going to pay for what he did to you last time." Ash said before getting confused. "Or… this time. What's the proper way of saying it?"

"Celebi." '_Don't bother. Time tenses for me are too complex for a human mind to really comprehend._' she said. "Bi." '_Just use past tense: it was your past and what'll happen in Johto won't be the same thing._'

"Well then… I'm gonna have to go to Orre eventually…" Ash mused. "There has to be something I can do…"

"Be, Celi." '_I'll help where I can, but as you can guess there is only so much me and the other legendaries can do._' The time traveling Pokemon informed. "Celi." '_One Legendary as a Shadow pokemon is enough, I don't want to know what _more _will do._'

"A Legendary got corrupted?" Ash questioned, looking shocked. "Which one?"

"Celebi…" '_Lugia - don't worry, not _that _Lugia, but a Lugia nonetheless._'

That was nightmarish. A Lugia was one of the most powerful legendaries: a Trio Master had to be, in order to control three other legendaries.

A Shadow Lugia? He didn't want to think about it.

* * *

**The next day - edge of Viridian Forest - 0854 hours local time**

* * *

"Pid." '_I want to hate you, you goddamn mouse from hell_.' said Pidgeotto as she recovered from a rather powerful thundershock that sent her into the ground. It was day two of the training from hell as Pikachu, abusing his status as the starter, shocked his comrades into action, attempting to get them to dodge.

As he was an electric-type, that was hard. Only another electric-type would be as fast as he was. Sucked to be them.

"Pika." '_You want to be a Pidgeot again_?' asked the electric mouse as he charged up for another shot.

"Pid. ge…" '_Yeah… but I need to LIVE in order to do that!_' Pidgeotto retorted with a groan.

"Spear, Spear!" '_That mouse is fucking mad I tell you…_' Spearow said to Kakuna.

"Kaku, ka." '_I've never been so happy to be an immobile cocoon…_' said the cocoon.

"Mi." '_Hiiiiiiiii_.' said someone that, until then, was silent. Mostly due to being shy.

The Alolan 'Pikachu clone'. Well, one of the two, at least. But Mimikyu had one advantage over Togedemaru in that way.

She scared the life out of all of them.

"SPEAR!" "KAKU!" '_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!_' screamed the two Pokemon as they tried to run away from her… or Roll in Kakuna's case, before hitting a branch, bouncing once, as a crack formed… a crack that began to glow brightly. The others all watched as emerging from the cracks of the cocoon, was a new Pokemon, one that they were all very familiar with…

…and was now _flying_ away… "BEE! BEE! DRILL!" '_GETAWAYGETAWAYGETAWAY!_'

"Mi! MI!" 'Don't go, Beedrill!' cried the little disguise Pokemon as she went after the bee Pokemon. "KYYYYYU!" 'I want to be your friend!'

Noctowl watched the whole thing and shuddered, Beedrill not even seeming to notice that he'd evolved into his final form. "Noc." 'And she doesn't even know she's dangerous to even LOOK at?' he muttered as he looked at Ash, who was trying to talk to Misty without her going into crazy blubbering.

So far, it seemed to be working. Noctowl was even trying to get Ash to sit closer to Misty.

Like all of Ash's Kanto/Johto Pokemon, even lazy-as-hell Snorlax, he wanted Ash and Misty to get together. His Hoenn team, though, wanted him and that May girl. That was never going to happen on his watch.

Though Pikachu didn't seem to really care - made sense, given he'd been with Ash for every region and had gotten to know all his companions, but still, when Noctowl asked him about that, Pikachu just said, '_I just want Ashlings to play with in my old age._'

So while he was trying, listening to their conversation.

"So… why were you near Pallet Town?" Ash asked the young woman as she drank some water from a bottle, unintentionally spilling some water out of her mouth and running down her shirt. Ash's self-control should be admired, as Ash very successfully kept his eyes well above her chin. Misty apparently didn't notice, Ash putting that off as her being far too used to being soaked.

Or trying to give him a show.

Mentally, Ash smacked himself to attempt to keep his stupidity in check.

"I, uh… was looking for Pokemon." Misty stuttered out-and boy did Ash hate that, Misty was NOT shy-as she finally noticed the water and where Ash was looking. She would have called him a pervert if he wasn't looking her straight in the eye.

She knew he saw, he was just being polite and not a pervert. She'd seen people look at her when that happened, but her Pokemon usually did something bad to them. Yet Ash was untouched.

"Really?" Ash asked, not believing her. Misty could only catch Magikarp in that little river. He knew that. EVERYONE knew that.

So why was she actually there?

She blushed slightly at his question.

"W-well… sometimes you get lucky and find something… _bigger_ than a Magikarp," She said, "I… heard rumors that sometimes a Gyarados could evolve from a Magikarp in the river, so… ya know… who knows?"

Ash understood that. But he wanted to know why Misty was so… not-misty. He was used to the passive-and-not-so-passive-agressive tomboy, not this… shy girl.

"I hoped I'd… find a friend, too." she finally admitted. "I don't have too many." Ash could believe that, at least until she sighed. "Actually, I don't have any at all."

The older-then-he-looked teen blinked in confusion. Misty, not having any friends? She had to know someone in Cerulean! "…what do you mean by that?" He questioned, "I mean… don't you have friends? Family?"

She seemed to sigh at the mention of her family "No… no friends…" she said, shaking her head. "Unless we count my Pokemon, of course… but, aside from them… no _human _friends…"

"But why?" Ash asked in confusion. It didn't make sense. But Misty was about to give him his answer.

"There weren't too many children my age in Cerulean City." she said, bringing her knees up to her face and trying to hide away. "Actually… I don't think there were any children my age there."

'Oh, boy.' Ash thought. This world was getting worse and worse. Misty's shyness was having no human friends at school? What about her sisters?

"I was always alone." Misty said, trying to not sob. "No one was ever in my classes, so my sisters homeschooled me. Whenever they were there, at least…"

"They… neglected you?" Ash asked, sounding worried.

"N-no! No, not that, just…" Misty said, before she sighed sadly. "I… I know my sisters love me, but… they never spend much time with me… I-I no its not their fault, with all the Shadow Pokemon around, they get called away to handle water-types that get corrupted… l-leaving me alone… t-they try, but… but…"

Ash got it immediately and wanted to know who the hell started this Shadow Pokemon crap, that way he could introduce him to the barrel of that—

'Calm. Down.' Ash thought sternly. 'You need to think rationally, not like an emotional ten-year-old.' Perhaps hypocritical, but it was true. Misty needed him to be understanding, compassionate, helpful, not going off half-cocked like some idiot going out to get revenge.

He was getting angry over something he didn't understand. So, he just sighed. "I'm sorry." Ash said. "I didn't… I didn't know."

Misty waved it off, smiling nervously. "It's ok!" she said. "I had a good teacher!" The young woman turned her head towards Starmie, who was… running from Charmander. Well, ROLLING from Charmander, Ash hearing 'get back here and BURN!' from the fire-type.

Misty just heard 'Char! CHAR!' like a cute fire-lizard. "Its nice to see them getting along…" She smiled at the sight.

"…Yeah, getting along…" Ash nodded, watching as Starmie continued to roll around away from Charmander.

"KYA! KYA!" '_For fuck's sake, LEAVE ME ALONE!_'

"Char!" '_BUUUURN!_'

It was darkly hilarious. Misty thought it was play, yet in reality, it was Starmie running from a battle-happy Charmander. And only he knew the truth.

With that thought, Ash grew somewhat depressed. He was the only one that understood Pokespeech here. Maybe the only one ever.

Ash was getting used to 'only' achievements. Ash-Greninja, the Orange League, the Battle Frontier: he was the only one to get any progress in those.

And yet he never won a league, usually due to poor choices and not knowing what his Pokemon could do. That was going to change. He would do his damnedest to win, but most importantly, he had to keep the idiots, mostly Archie, Maxie and Cyrus, from killing everyone.

He was never going to have a normal life.

* * *

**Two hours later**

* * *

A recall to Charmander and to Misty's Pokemon brought them to the near-edge of the forest with only four Pokemon out of their balls: Pikachu, Psyduck (who clearly had a bigger headache then usual) Mimikyu (who was the reason for Psyduck's headache, as she was sitting on his bill) and finally, Ash's Noctowl.

His red and gold shiny Noctowl. His ONLY shiny, actually.

"Your Noctowl looks so pretty..." Misty said, looking at the owl-like Pokemon that flew above them. "I've only seen a few Shinny's in the past… "

"Noc, Towl." '_Hm, yeah, I put effort in my work,_' The Pokemon retorted with a smug smirk. "Towl." '_Unlike that traitor pigeon..._'

Suddenly Ash's pokeball opened up, spitting Pidgeotto out "PIDG!" '_I HEARD THAT!_' It cried out as it flew up to intercept the owl.

Ash didn't know all that much about what Pidgeotto was like (he remembered that non-Pokemon were actually a thing) but pigeon-like, Pidgeotto was not. She was a raptor, a bird-of-prey. And she was pissed at being compared to a songbird.

Ash would know: his Unfezant was known to sing and she was no match for Pidgeotto. "Noct." 'I know, that's why I said it.' the owl hoo'ed out. "Owl, noc." 'What will you do about it?'

Ash expected more gusts and whirlwinds like last time. Maybe an Air Slash or two.

He wasn't expecting Pidgeotto to fire off a stream of white energy that Noctowl was hard-pressed to avoid.

'When did Pidgeotto learn how to use HYPER BEAM?!' Ash screamed mentally as the first bird recovered from being recoiled back. 'Can Pidgeotto even LEARN Hyper Beam?!'

"Whoa, I thought Pidgeotto couldn't learn Hyper Beam until they evolved!" exclaimed Misty. At least it explained how Pidgeotto knew the attack: she learned it as a Pidgeot and retained it.

But as Pidgeotto took in very deep breaths, it showed why the second form couldn't use it properly: not enough mass, not enough stamina.

"Pid. Ge. OT!" '_I. Am no. TRAITOR!_' she screamed at Noctowl.

Noctowl didn't got another reply in before she started flying closer, another ball of energy forming in her beak. She wanted to fire at point-blank range.

"Pika?!" 'Is she INSANE?!' Pikachu screamed out. "Chu, Pi!" 'She doesn't have the energy for Hyper Beam yet! She fires that a few more times, she'll kill herself!'

The moment Ash heard that, his eyes widened before he looked up at Pidgeotto "Pidgeotto! Stop _NOW!_"

That caught the bird's attention, dispelling the charge long enough for Noctowl to use Air Slash, firing blades of air pressure at Ash's first flying-type. One hit her, smacking into her head with a snapping sound.

The rest, which missed, impacted the forest floor, hitting trees and in some cases, cutting them down.

"Mi." 'Good thing Beedrill's in his ball.' said Mimikyu as she saw the Noctowl-induced logging fest. "Mi." 'He would've gotten hurt!' "Psy-aye-aye..." 'Get off my bill, you Arceus-damned Ghost.' quacked Psyduck, trying to not look under the life-preserving rag.

Pikachu just sighed, facepalming as the two birds began to duke it out yet again with one another. "Pika Pi..." '_This is starting to get annoying..._' he muttered. "Chuu..." '_I've had it up to here with their dogfights..._'

"Mi? Kyu..." '_Dogfights? But they're flying types..._' The Ghostly-looking pokemon questioned in confusion.

Pikachu was tempted to explain (he'd watched some show about humans and how stupidly inventive they could be when they wanted to kill each other when Ash was sleeping once in Unova) but more waves of pressurized air nearly hit them and blew Mimikyu off Psyduck's bill.

"MIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" 'HELP!' screamed the ghost-type as she was sent flying. Pikachu was torn between getting revenge by proxy on the murderous Mimikyu and helping this...child.

Oh, who was he kidding? This little ghost was family now. The electric-type jumped to catch the ghost before ash sent out Charmander to help deal with the birds. Pikachu would've done it himself, but Ash saw him jump and frankly, Charmander would use this as some excuse to get stronger somehow.

Mimikyu tumbled, screaming as she was sent flying. "MI!" 'HELP!' she screamed, trying to stay under her protective rag. Pikachu used a brief burst of Quick Attack to catch up to the fairy/ghost, snatching her from getting hurt. "Mi?" 'Pikachu?' she asked as she was set down.

"Pika." 'I'm Ash's fastest Pokemon and you needed help.' he explained to the ghost before petting her on her 'head'. "Pi." 'Stay out of that fight.'

"Mimi!" 'Oh, I'll be fine! I have Disguise!' she said cheerfully. Pikachu blinked. "Ka?" 'What?'

"Kyu!" 'It's my ability! I can take one hit in any fight and not take any damage!' she said, eyesmiling.

"...Pika" '_...damn I wish I could do that..._' The electric mouse muttered. "Chuu?" '_Is it, like… _any _attack? Or is there some sort of limit?_'

"Mim." 'I...don't know.' she said. "Kyyyyuuuuu..." 'That crazy professor in Alola wanted to try using everything from Tackle to Hyper Beam to...I think he said something about Arceus.' Pikachu paled. He knew Kukui could be a bit eccentric, but somehow getting his hands on Arceus and forcing the God Pokemon to use Judgement on a Mimikyu?!

The only Mimikyu he'd want that to happen to would be the insane one Jessie caught!

"Pika. Chu." '_Well… let's hope you don't have to test that._' He assured, patting the mimicking ghost on the head.

The Disguise Pokemon purred before another explosion happened. "Pika." 'Oh, sweet Arceus...' he muttered.

Meanwhile, Ash was having ENOUGH of the birds. Noctowl seemingly got it into his head that Pidgeotto just up and left him for no good reason. And Pidgeotto...well, Noctowl WAS being an arrogant ass. But if they kept this up, they'd destroy a good part of the forest.

"ENOUGH!" yelled Ash over the cries of the birds of prey. "If you two keep this up, you'll get yourselves killed! And for what?! You're BOTH my Pokemon and that means you two are family! So STOP FIGHTING!"

"Noct! Noct!" '_How are you defending her?!_' Noctowl shouted, glaring at the bird. "Owl! Noct!" '_She left your family! Never to return! Why do you keep acting like this is okay?!_'

Ash looked at Misty briefly, noticing she was tending to Psyduck, who was quacking his ass off. "Because _**I**_ _let her go_!" he yelled at the owl. "_I_ let her go! Now get down here!" The unspoken 'I don't want to imply we're from the future in front of Misty' was understood by both birds, so they began to descend, though not without glaring at one another.

THe two birds of prey landed a few dozen feet from their trainer before they started glaring at each other, before Ash walked over and smacked them both on the beak.

"Geotto!/Owl!" 'OW!' they cried. "You both deserved it." Ash ground out. "_I_ let Pidgeotto go to defend a flock that could not defend themselves. _I let her go_. Do you get that?" Ash turned his attention to Pidgeotto. "You aren't blameless, either, Pidgeotto. You know I can understand you and this could have waited until later! Instead, you blew down Arceus knows how many trees and probably pissed off half the flying bugs in this forest!"

Both of the birds had shut up completely, looking up at Ash rather intimidated by his aggression - even to the side, Pikachu and Mimikyu looked on in surprise at what had just happened.

Ash closed his eyes and smacked his head. "I don't know what is wrong with me." he said. "I don't DO this. I don't vent and rage at my Pokemon. I… This isn't me." And that scared Ash. Who WAS he in this timeline?

"Pika." 'Maybe it's just the effect of being two people at once.' Pikachu said. "Chu, Pikipi." 'I mean, your other self in this universe is still in there, Ash.' It made sense. "Maybe, Pikachu, but this is not me. Only people like Paul do this." Ash said, anger rising again at the mention of Paul's name, especially at the thought of what he did to Chimchar. He took in a deep breath, trying to calm down. "You two will have to learn to live with one another. No more fighting. You two are flock. Parlement. Am I clear?"

Buzzing was heard behind Misty, who slowly turned to see a massive swarm of pissed off Beedrill.

"B-B-B-B-B-Bu-Bu-Buuuu!" She began to sputter incoherantly, backing up towards Ash.

"Misty, what-" he began to say, before he noticed the horde of Beedrill arising over the horizon. "…oh…"

"Pika." '_Running time?_'

"Kyu." '_RUNNING TIME!_'

The group began to flee, chased by the most formidable of all non-legendary poison-type Pokemon. There was a reason Beedrill was feared and it wasn't just Mega Beedrill.

* * *

Four hours of constant running led them to the foothills of Pewter City, home of a large tin, copper and silver mine that gave the city its' name, a museum and more importantly, at least to Ash, a Pokemon League Gym.

Now, in the last timeline, a badge was merely bragging rights and a way to enter the League. Now… well, most trainers were region-locked, as it was called, unless they did well enough in their league to prove they were strong enough to leave and face the unknown.

Meaning, unless Ash fought in the League and did well enough, he would never leave Kanto. This would suit some, but Ash had something he needed to deal with in Sinnoh in a few years, meaning if he wanted to end Cyrus' threat, he had to enter the league.

And the journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step after all. And that first step was, without a doubt, Brock… assuming he _was _the Gym leader in this reality as well. Given how much Misty has changed, he was prepared for anything really.

Bur first, he had to take stock of his team, even as Misty and the Pokemon, as well as he, took in deep breaths to recover from the flight from the Beedrill swarm.

He had Pikachu, his starter and arguably most powerful Pokemon, who knew Iron Tail, which Onyx would be fearful of.

Butterfree, who evolved during the fleeing session, who, somehow, learned psychic-type attacks which could be used to confuse Geodude or Onyx.

Charmander, his as-of-then adorable fire lizard, who would likely try to evolve here, knew a number of attacks that were neutral or effective against ground/rock-types.

Noctowl and Pidgeotto, who were...not a good matchup due to being flying-types. Still, if they learned Steel Wing from Pikachu demonstrating Iron Tail a few times, they'd have a chance.

Beedrill...Beedrill was not facing Brock. He needed to go back to the ranch with Spearow.

And finally, Mimikyu. He wasn't sure what the little 'Pikachu clone', as they were sometimes called, knew beyond Charm.

"Otto!" '_I am NOT training with that arrogant son of a bitch!_' cried his first bird as Pikachu told them out of earshot what they would be doing.

"Look, I know you two _hate _each other, but like it or not, he's the best our of our line up for you to train with," Ash sighed, "You're both flying types, and you can learn from one another's own abilities."

"Pidgeot!" 'He-'

"I KNOW WHAT HE'S SAYING!" Ash yelled before taking a breath to calm down. "Just...Put it aside for now. Ok? We'll solve this later." His first bird reluctantly nodded, though both of the birds glared at one another.

"You...can understand them?" Misty asked as she walked over. "You're not joking, right?"

"I can understand them like I can understand you." Ash replied. "I don't know how-" 'I can't tell you.' he thought to himself "but I can understand exactly what they say. And Noctowl doesn't like Pidgeotto for some reason."

"That's… wow..." Misty muttered, "Talking to pokemon… I can only talk to Psyduck, but that's since he's… well, psychic."

"Duck." 'She can barely understand me half the time.' quacked the duck in question before Ash looked at the yellow cause of many of Misty's headaches in the other timeline.

"Well, I can understand every word you say." Ash said before looking at his team. "We'd better head to the Pokemon Center. After everything that happened in that forest, I think we all need a rest."

* * *

**Pewter Pokemon Center - 45 minutes later**

* * *

In the past timeline, Ash was confused as hell as to why the Joys of the Pokemon Centers all looked alike.

It took going to Unova to figure out that the Joy clan, as it were, was MASSIVE and predominantly pink-haired with a tendency to join Pokemon Centers as chief medical professionals. Now, though, he was used to it.

"Oh, my. I didn't know there was a shiny Noctowl in Viridian Forest." said the Pewter Joy as she looked over the shiny owl. "Why did you even go through that place? There's a serial killer stalking the woods!"

"Was he wearing a suit of Samurai armor?" Ash asked, making the nurse look at him in shock. "Oh! Did you come across-"

"Yeah, he won't be trouble for you anymore." he said, not wanting to go any further. Misty, though...

"He tried to kill me! But Ash saved me and the noise brought so many Beedrill-" she started to ramble, but Ash put his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. It also gave the local Joy the wrong idea.

"So brave, saving your girlfriend from that crazy man." she cooed. "She's not my girlfriend." Ash all but ground out.

"Noc." 'Yet.' said the shiny owl, who would have smirked had he had the capability.

Ash remembered his vow NEVER to get romantically involved. 'Love them all you want, you know they deserve better' being the exact phrasing. And yet Noctowl (and probably his other Pokemon) wanted to 'ship' him with the girls he travelled with.

That being said, he had more important matters to deal with. "Can you please check on my other Pokemon?" he asked, holding several Pokeballs containing the rest of his captures, sans Pikachu.

"Of course, I'm sorry." the Joy apologized as she took the pokeballs. "I see you have seven pokemon. Teleportation system's on the fritz again; do you want me to send them to Professor Oak's lab?" Ash would ask how she knew, but the Pokedex was only granted to people that got their starters from the regional professor.

That particular bit of knowledge came from his 'other' self and nearly resulted in another nosebleed.

"My Spearow and Beedrill, please." Ash answered before preparing to deal with… another problem.

* * *

**Hoenn Region - 0847 hours local time**

* * *

Fire and ice didn't mix well. Common knowledge that two Pokemon of the aforementioned types just didn't care about, apparently. Though they did have one problem.

"Tor." 'Can you please stop plugging my vent?" asked the fire tortoise known as Torkoal, even as he eyeballed the Pokemon plugging said vent.

"Snor." 'Sorry. These things happen when you fall from great heights.' said the cone-shaped ice-type Snorunt as he got out of the vent. "Runt?" 'Wait, Torkoal? Well, I got lucky, didn't I?'

"...Tor." '_...Oh, Snorunt!_' The fire-type exclaimed in surprise. "Koal!" '_Well… fancy running into you here of all places… and as a… well, _Snorunt… _did we time travel or something?_'

"Runt." 'Probably. You know Ash.' Snorunt stated shrugging as best he could. And they did know Ash: the Celebi incident was legendary and no one wanted to talk about the Michina debacle with Arceus. Time travel was something they were used to. Same with alternate universes: they heard about the Reflection Cave thing. And didn't want to think about it.

"Koal." 'So...find the others?' Torkoal suggested. "Run." 'That was my plan. And I found you! So it's working!' Snorunt declared.

"Tork." 'We still have to find Sceptile and the others. Which won't be easy,' Torkoal said.

"Runt!" 'Just find Taillow and it's smooth skating to Kanto!' Snorunt cried.

"Torkoal, Tork." '_Then let's get moving,_' The lava turtle said, as he started marching on ahead, "Tork?" '_Any idea where we start?_'

"Sno!" '_Find Talliow!_' cried the ice-type. Well, easier said than done.

* * *

**Kanto Region - Pewter City Pokemon Center - Training Area - 1512 hours local time**

* * *

"Pika, Kachu-pi." '_You gather energy like I am for my tail. See?_' Pikachu said as he demonstrated his use of Iron Tail. "Pika." '_Try to think of metal, iron, steel, whatever you want, when you think of it. After that, it's subconscious and you don't even think about it._'

"Noc." 'A_nd why are you teaching us how to use Iron Tail?_' Noctowl asked, glancing at Pidgeotto before Pikachu sparked, getting their attention.

"Ka-pi-chu." '_Because showing you Iron Tail might give you an idea for Steel Wing. We're facing a rock-type gym leader, bird-people._' the mouse said. "Chu." '_And you are both at a serious type-disadvantage. Geodude, sure, you two can handle, but Onix if he hasn't evolved into Steelix? Unless Brock evolved him, Charmander's going to have a hell of a time fighting the big rock snake of doom._'

Both birds remembered Onix/Steelix all too well. And while Pikachu had a point, why did they BOTH have to learn it together?!

"Pidge-" '_We won last time without steel-type attacks. We don-_' Pidgeotto started, but Pikachu sparked and sparked darkly. That shut the bird up.

"Pi-Ka-Chu." '_Let me make this clear. Until Ash gets back from working with that ghost-type and says neither of you need to learn Steel Wing, you WILL learn it._' Pikachu ground out. "Chu-pi." '_You are both normal/flying-type Pokemon. That means nothing you have will do a good enough job at hurting Onix. So either learn the damn attack or SIT THE MATCH OUT!_'

Both raptor Pokemon backed off slightly until Pikachu stopped sparking. "Pi." '_Sorry. Ash restoring my memories didn't completely purge my being a Shadow Pokemon. But you get the idea, I hope._'

"Noct… Noct." '_Right… we get it._' Noctowl sigh. "Owl." '_We'll learn it._'

"Pidg." '_We knew it before, we'll learn it again._' Pidgeotto nodded.

Meanwhile, Ash was trying to figure out Mimikyu.

Ash had never had a ghost-type before and Haunter did not count. So while he had some ideas what Mimikyu could do from that murderous rag back in Alola, he knew next to nothing about this little Mimikyu.

"Mimi?" 'So what are we gonna do?' she asked as she looked up at him through her little eyeholes. "Well, Mimikyu, what kind of moves do you know?" Ash asked. "I'm usually the kind of trainer that goes for fast and hard-hitting Pokemon, though I'll take anyone that wants to come along. I just need to get a handle on them first."

"Kyu… Mimi, Mimikyu." '_Well… I can use disguise!_' She exclaimed, "Kyu!" '_It makes me immune from attack for one hit._'

"...any attack?"

"Mi." '_As far as I know, yeah._'

Well, that explained Jessie's demonic Mimikyu surviving just about EVERYTHING thrown at him. "Does… every Mimikyu have this ability?" he asked, curious about the Pikachu-mimics as a whole.

"Kyu!" 'Yup!' she said, giving the impression of a cheery smile. "Mimi..." 'But I don't know what I can learn… I mean, I can do this…"

Mimikyu turned around, then spun really fast, spooking Ash and causing him to fall to the ground. Mimikyu knew Astonish, a ghost-type attack. "Kyu!" 'And I can do this!' she said as green energy surrounded her wooden tail prop, right before she slammed it into the ground. "Mi." 'Kinda hurts when I do it, though...'

"...that would be wood hammer." Ash nodded. "Not bad, not bad… anything else?"

"...Kyu..." '_...not really..._' the small ghost muttered, its body drooping down. "Mi." '_That's… all I know..._'

Ash patted the little ghost-type on her 'head', making her look up at him. "Hey, that just means you can improve!" he said cheerfully. This was something he enjoyed after Johto: learning what a Pokemon could do and training them to be the best they could be. "We can try a lot of things: you're a ghost-type, so you can learn a lot of ghost-type attacks and moves."

"Mimi… kyu?" 'I can?' she asked, almost in awe of her own capabilities. "Sure you can! Come on, let's try things out!" Ash said, almost back to his normal self from before the time-warp thing.

"Kyu!" '_Okay!_' The little Pokemon cheered, jumping up into his chest happily. "Mimi! Mimi!" '_What do we do? What do we do?_'

"Settle down, Mimikyu." Ash said as he put Mimikyu down and thought about attacks the Demon-Kyu, as he privately nicknamed that thing, used. One move Mimikyu used: Wood Hammer. If she could dodge, she would be his ace in the hole, but still, he had to focus on Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball.

"Try to concentrate your type energy into your..." Ash trailed off. "Arm? Hand? I don't want to sound offensive, but how are you holding onto that wooden tail?" Mimikyu looked at the tail copy in question, something every Mimikyu had. "Mi." 'I'm just… holding it.' she said.

"Ok, that's something for later. Just channel the power into your… hand, arm, whatever it is." Ash said. "Then lash out at something. Not me, but something."

"Mi… Kyu." '_Umm… okay..._' The ghost-type muttered, as it looked at a nearby tree. It started charging at the tree at a rapid speed, jumping up… and in a small spinning motion, Ash couldn't see it, but _something _came from underneith the rag of Mimikyu, and left a sizable scratch into the side of the tree.

"Mimi! Mimi?" '_I did it! What did I do?_' Mimikyu questioned, hopping up and down.

"That… " Ash mused, looking at the damage. "...looked like you just learned Scratch!"

"...Mi?" '_That… that's it?_' Mimikyu asked, its body seeming to droop down, disappointed.

"Hey, hey..." ash said leaning down and patting Mimikyu on the 'head'. "It's not the end of the world. If we train harder, Scratch might change into something else. It's not like you get it right the first time." Ash knew that from experience: Pikachu took weeks to learn Thunderbolt and it took quite a few times to learn Iron Tail and Electroball, for example. Charizard took almost a year to learn to trust and obey him in battle...the list goes on.

"Mi...mi?" '_Really_?' she asked, hope in her hidden eyes. Ash seriously began to question whether or not Jessie's was even of the same species at her cuteness. "Really. Just ask Pikachu or Charmander. They didn't get everything down their first time." he said, smiling at her with his eyes closed.

"...KYUUUUUU!" '_YAAAAAY!_' Mimikyu jumped up into Ash's shoulder, purring as she rubbed into him.

Ash laughed, even as Mimikyu did her thing.

* * *

**Sinnoh Region - near Twinleaf Town - 1748 hours local time**

* * *

Turtwig had to admit, when the land shark did his thing, he was good at it.

The tunnel, while not fancy, was big enough to allow them to walk through it with ease side by side. "Char." '_I knew Gible could dig, but this is I_NSANE.' Chimchar said as he looked down the seemingly-endless tunnel.

"Tur." '_Well, he _is_ a land shark_.' Turtwig retorted before coming to a stop. "Twig?" '_Why would Arceus make it so something like Gible could exist to begin with_?'

"Chim." '_Well… hmmm..._' The fire monkey mused, "Char." '_You'd have to ask Arceus that..._'

"Twig." '_Its just so strange..._' The turtle-like pokemon muttered. "Tur, twig." '_Why must there be a shark for the land?_'

"Chi-char." '_Why must there be a fire-monkey? Why must there be a turtle with a tree on his back_?' Chimchar retorted with a shrug. "Cha." 'M_aybe Arceus thought there were enough sharks in the sea, so why not on land? I don't know._'

A loud 'GIBLE!' followed by a sound of teeth chomping on something caught their attention as they ran down the tunnel.

"Star! Arly!" '_Let go of me, you damned land shark_!' chirped the 'victim' of Gible's infamous, if friendly, bite. "Starly!" '_I am not a chew toy_!'

"Gib!" '_Hi, Staraptor_!' replied the eyesmiling land shark as the two starters caught up, finding a Starly in Gible's massive maw. It was Ash's future Staraptor, who was...not happy about being chomped on by the land shark.

"Tur." '_Well, nice to see the entire family's here_.' Turtwig said, watching Gible 'play' with the starling Pokemon. And by 'play', we mean 'chew on him hard enough to feel, but not enough to hurt'.

"Chim, Chim." '_Well, that's one down._' Chimchar sighed, "Char!" '_Come on Gible, give him some space._'

Gible let the bird go before grinning in his land shark way. "Gib!" '_Now we're just missing Buizel and we can head straight to Kanto_!' Gible cried.

"Sta." 'Buizel's probably napping.' Starly chirped. "Ly." '_Anyone know what the date is? I'd like to know if we actually have to go to Kanto_.'

Chimchar and Turtwig looked at one another before looking at the starling pokemon. "Chim." '_We're not evolved, you MORON. We obviously have to head for Kanto_.' Chimchar stated.

"Gi." '_Be right back_!' Gible said before surfacing.

Starly sighed before looking back at them. "Star." '_So… how have you two been?_' He asked as they exited the tunnel Gible had made. "Ly." '_Because I still have a migraine just _thinking _about what happened… whatever it was..._'

Du-dun.

Starly hid behind Chimchar "Star!" '_Keep him away from me!_'

Chimchar sighed, knowing nothing can hide from the Gible as he listened to its theme music play, as he came closer and closer.

Du-dun. Du-dundun, dundun, dundun…

"Get back here!"

The Pokemon all perked up at that human voice, sounding _very _familiar yet… different. They spotted the fin of the land shark, digging through the ground before it popped back up… only carrying what looked like a belt with pokeballs and a pokedex upon it.

"...Tur..." '_...Gible… where did you get that…?_'

"I said get back… here?" The pokemon all turned around, and blinked at the sight of a blue-haired girl that looked rather familiar.

"Chim...char?" '_Is that… Dawn?_' Chimchar questioned.

"Twig." '_No, she's too tall… and older… and bigger around that area that Ash would get slapped by if he mentioned it to his girls._'

The Dawn look-a-like blinked as she looked at the assorted Pokemon. From a distance she did look a lot like Dawn, even wearing the same hat and hairstyle - but her eyes were different, with a gold-silver hue to them, and was wearing a white scarf, a bright red coat with matching boots. While still in her age group, she was clearly older than Dawn.

"Uhh… okay..." she said, looking at the Pokemon before her. "...Hi?"

"Gible!" '_She smells like Dawn_!' Gible said before opening the Pokedex. "Giiiiiiiib..." '_Ok, how do we read human dates_?'

Chimchar groaned. The things he did when he WASN'T training: learn to read the human languages. At least they were based off the Unown, so he pressed the right buttons to get a date on the damn thing.

It read 'April 26th, AS62'. Well, that didn't make any sense. While the Unovans and Kalosians used something called 'Anno Domini', the four neighboring regions used something more tied to legendary Pokemon. So he pushed buttons to try and convert it to something more familiar.

"H-Hey! Leave that alone!" The Dawn-lookalike said, as she tried to grab it…

*CHOMP* "Gib!" '_Hi!_'

"Gah! Stop that! Get off me!"

"Gible!" '_Nope!_'

Chimchar sighed as he continued to find the converter, while Gible distracted the girl - whose name appears to be Platinum according to the Dex. After a bit of searching, he finally found the switch function, and finally learned the date was 1996 AD. So… several years in the past, _long _before Ash meets Dawn.

Chimchar looked up at Platinum, before using the Dex to type in a message - one of the benefits of learning how to read? He knew how to _write _thanks to it. "Chim!" '_Gible, get off her please._'

"Gib." '_K._' He hopped off Platinum's head, as she groaned - rubbing it.

"Ow… okay, glad to find a Gible but-" she began to say, before looking at the Chimchar, who had her dex in hand. Which had a message written on it.

'_We're trying to find our trainer, Ash Ketchum - he lives in Kanto, from a place called Pallet Town. Can you help us please? - Chimchar_'

The girl blinked. "Ok...Well, I could just catch-" she started before Gible started charging up a Draco Meteor. Line was crossed.

'_We'd rather be re-caught by Ash._' Chimchar typed in quickly. '_We lost the indicator that marks us as caught, so we need to find him soon. Its very important we return to him - he must be worried sick about us._'

"Okay, okay… fair enough." Platinum nodded, waving her hand at the Gible, who immediately cooled down its Draco Meteor, and smiled. "Well… I guess you must really care about this guy… "

'_He saved me from an abusive Trainer,_' Chimchar answered. '_We just want to go home with him._'

"...a Chimchar who can read and write..." Platinum muttered, "I would've loved to have you in my team, but… " she smiled a bit "I'm not gonna break up loyalty like that… c'mon, I'm sure we can find a plane or a boat to Kanto. Just stick close and… at least _act _like you're part of my team, so no one thinks of balling you."

To that, Gible decided to do the usual thing.

CHOMP!

Gibles loved to bite things.

While Platinum was distracted, a flash signalled the arrival of a newcomer: Celebi. With Buizel, who was still sleeping. "Bi." '_Lazy son of a bitch was still at his waterfall._' she groused before noticing Platinum. "Bi." '_...Ok, what the hell: Dawn shouldn't be THAT old. She's barely 11, if I'm right._'

"Turt." '_That's not Dawn._' Turtwig said. "Wig." '_It's her sister._' Chimchar and Starly looked at him while Platinum continued to try and pry Gible off her head.

"Cha." '_What._' he asked. "Turt." '_I know you can't smell it, but I can. She's kin to Dawn, but not Dawn._' Turtwig retorted. "Wii." '_That means she's her older sister. Somehow._'

"Okay, thanks for not being so… tight..." Platinum said, turning around… and seeing a legendary right there. "...Celebi, Celebi is _right _in front of me, what the fuck..."

"Bi." '_Son of a Helixian_ **whore**.' Celebi cursed before kicking Buizel awake, who had a minor panic attack. "Cele..." '_I don't have time to mindwipe her. Use whatever excuse you want._' Then she teleported away.

"...what the fuck is your trainer into to have _Celebi_ hang out around you..." Platinum gawked.

Chimchar thought of something quick, as he typed into the Pokedex. '_Celebi is Ash's._'

…

…

…

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

* * *

**Pewter City, Kanto Region, same time**

* * *

While the birds were not exactly READY, Ash figured Charmander and Pikachu could handle it. After all, both of them knew Metal Claw and Iron Tail.

And rocks were never a match for the riddle of steel.

...Ash really needed to stop watching those Unovan action movies whenever he wasn't training or dealing with those idiots from Team Rocket. He liked the TRio, he just hated it when they tried to steal Pikachu. Or any Pokemon: they were decent people off their clocks. Anyway, time to face Brock.

Pikachu and Charmander were ready for war, the rest of his team weren't going to fight if he was right about it being two-on-two.

He opened the doors, Misty and Mimikyu following him into the darkened gym.

Then the floodlights kicked on.

"Who goes there?"

Ash smiled for a brief moment, before straightening his face as he turned to face one of his oldest, and most trusted friends. There sat Brock, cross-legged in the spotlight, just like before.

"I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town." He said, "And you must be Brock Slate, Gym Leader of Pewter City.."

"Indeed I am. You must be here to challenge me for the Boulder Badge." Brock said, standing up. "Very well. This is your first badge, yes?"

Ash nodded. "Then I will use only two Pokemon." Brock said. "You may use your entire party." Wait a second, what? Six on two? That didn't seem fair.

"That… doesn't sound very fair…" Ash informed, but Brock just smirked.

"You'd think that…" he retorted, as he started walking to the other side of the Gym. "But you'll be facing off against two of my strongest Pokemon! You had best be ready for a fight, Ash Ketchum!"

**(BGM: Kanto Gym Leader Remix by DJ-Fishhead)**

Brock tossed a single Pokeball, releasing a familiar form of Brock's Geodude, who formed thick plates over his fists before punching them together, trying to intimidate Ash.

Instead, a random fact entered his mind: Geodudes used magnetic fields to 'hover', like a maglev train. He shook it off, though blood did run from his nose before Ash sent out Pidgeotto, tossing her ball out before she was sent onto the field. "Geot!" 'I'm going to kick your ass!' cried the bird.

"Dude." 'lady, you're a flying-type. You're screwed.' retorted the rock-type. "I would say this was a bad choice, Ash." Brock said. "Evolved or not, you have a type disadvantage."

Ash just smirked "Type advantage alone doesn't win battles," He said.

Brock rose his eyebrow slightly, but smirked "Indeed it doesn't." He mused, "Well them, you'd best prove you've got what it takes to defy expectations!"

With that, the match was set to begin. "Geodude, Gyroball!" Brock commanded, beginning the battle proper. "Dude!" cried the rock pokemon as he spun toward the raptoral Pokemon.

"Steel Wing!" Ash called out, his first bird cawing before her wings glowed a bright white with a hint of silver and she rushed at Geodude, the avian version of a grin present. But before her wing made contact, the glowing started to fade slightly, meaning when Geodude made contact, rock was chipped away, but not as much as Pidgeotto would have liked before she shot past, her feathers brushing past the rock-type as the technique failed.

She hadn't perfected it yet. "I would say you weren't ready, but clearly, you did have some idea how to beat me." Brock said. "Still, your Pidgeotto doesn't seem to have Steel Wing down."

Ash knew why. "She and Noctowl don't like each other for some reason." he deadpanned. "And while I tried to get them to learn together..." Ash didn't need to finish it, as Brock nodded understandingly.

"Sometimes Pokemon don't get along," He said, "But the fact that you've come so far, despite having recently begun your journey speaks volumes… but let us see if it's enough. Rock Smash, go!"

"Geod!" wordlessly grunted Geodude as he rushed toward the bird raised his fist and aimed for Pidgeotto's left shoulder. "Use Steel Wing!" Ash cried, Pidgeotto, confused as hell but trusting her trainer, obeying. The effect was quick, but not fast enough, as Pidgeotto cried out in pain as her shoulder was broken and torn out of her socket.

But it could have been worse. And Brock winced at Pidgeotto's cries. Still, while Geodude came out the winner, he did not come out unscarred, as the rock making up his left hand was cracked from the impact with the hardened wing.

And from the look on his face, it hurt like a bitch.

Brock sighed. "I'll pay for Pidgeotto's recovery: Geodude's still working on trying NOT to cripple anyone he uses that on for life." he said, his seemingly-eternally closed eyes giving a glare to Geodude, who was trying to fix his hand. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine… it's a pokemon battle…" Ash sighed, as he recalled Pidgeotto. "You rest up buddy…" he then pulled out his next pokeball. "But we're not done just yet!"

Ash tossed it, releasing a fire lizard. "Char!" '_Time to evolve! Charmeleon, here I come!_' cried Charmander.

"GEo-dude." '_Oh, that's rich. A fire-type? This should take five seconds._' Geodude said smugly. Sadly, he did not know that Charmander had…

Anger issues.

"CHAAAAR!" '_DON'T YOU BELITTLE ME YOU OVERGROWN ROCKY TURD!_' The Charmander screamed - its tail flame _erupting _in a blast of flame that rivaled that of a Charizard before the little pokemon unleashed a torrent of flame upon Geodude.

Now, Geodude weathered this attack as best a rock/ground-type could, but he FELT the rock in his body start to overheat and crack. Were it not for the regenerative abilities and resistance to fire rock-types have, the thermal shock would've cracked him in half long ago.

Brock would have blinked, but that would have been somewhat redundant for him. "Your Charmander has…" he started before Ash picked up for him. "Anger problems. We're going on it." Ash said, hoping Charmander would evolve in this fight. And straight to Charizard, too.

Sadly, it didn't work that way: Charmander only evolved to Charmeleon after a certain point where his body just couldn't handle his raw power any longer. That caused a major imbalance in his brain chemistry, which, along with Ash's not-so-minor screwups, caused Charmeleon not to obey him.

After he evolved to Charizard, it just became ingrained habit until shortly before Shamouti.

"CHAR!" '_STOP RUNNING SO I CAN MELT YOUR SORRY ASS!_' Charmander roared as it continued to chase after Geodude, firing a near continuous flame at the rock-type.

NOW, though, he was just taking it out on everything else that could take it. Geodude have a four-times resistance to fire. He could take a burn or two, even as he levitated away using his magnetic core.

All Geodudes were magnetic: Alolan Geodudes were just electric-typed.

"Geodude, use Mud sport!" ordered Brock, geodude pulling a hard 180, then creating raw dirt and mixing it with ambient moisture in the air, creating mud. While he was weak to water-attacks, those had no small amount of pressure behind them. This was like taking a dip in a pool of water: completely harmless.

He chucked the mud at Charmander, who just ramped up the proto-Flamethrower to as high as he could get as he charged at Geodude, drying the mud on contact like sun-baked mud bricks in that weird country with a desert, rivers and pyramids.

Liza watched a lot of weird documentaries. One of them even had a weird Lucario in them.

Back to the fight, Charmander had enough. All he needed was the order to use the attack. He was sure Ash would just shrug and let him do it anyways (he was VERY in-tune with Pokemon he captured) but still.

"Charmander, use Metal Claw!" Ash cried. Charmander's claws turned silver white before the torrent of flame came to and end - yet enough was still scorching the earth so when Geodude turned around, he beheld the awesome sight of Charmander charged through the fire and the flames of his own attack - claws glowing brightly, looking as if he were breaching from the very fires of hell to grapple with him.

"GEEEOOOO!" '_FUUUUUUCKKKK!_' Geodude shouted as Charmander hit him square in its jaw, sending the rock-type flying backwards - crashing into a wall, causing a sizable crater to be formed in his wake.

"Geodude is unable to battle! Challenger Ketchum wins Round 1!" cried an automated voice that sounded dangerously like Clem-Bot. If Ash had to deal with a Kanto version of that Arceus-damned thing, he swore to all the Creation Trio that Clemont was going to be put through literal hell. He could tolerate his exploding inventions (Clemont was 12 or 13: hardly a professional or experienced engineer) but that was bullshit of the HIGHEST degree!

"Well, I see you did train your starter very well." Brock complimented, returning Geodude before a black bolt of lightning nearly hit him, Pikachu sparking in anger. "...A Shadow Pikachu?"

"Relax Pikachu," Ash sighed, as Pikachu in turn relaxed as well. "Charmander isn't my starter… _Pikachu_ is my starter, and he's very… _defensive _about that title."

"Pika!" '_Damn right!_' Pikachu exclaimed, hopping into the air for a moment.

"Sometimes, I wonder whether or not Professor Oak's finally gone senile…" Brock muttered before ANOTHER bolt came closer to his face.

Clearly, Pikachu wasn't a fan of anyone badmouthing Oak.

Yes, he was old and getting iffy in his judgement. He didn't pick wrong with him and Ash, time paradoxes or not.

And yes, they knew. Ash may have looked and pretended otherwise, but he was not an idiot and was far, FAR more observant then he looked. Pikachu just asked Oak's former team.

"Ok, I crossed a line." Brock said before getting back to business. "You defeated Geodude. Now, you face one of my best!" He drew a Pokeball and tossed it out. "Go, Onix!" The ball opened, releasing the rock snake Ash knew more as a Steelix.

Charmander scoffed. "Mander." '_I beat you, I evolve. Simple as that._' he declared. Yes, Charmander had evolution obsessions.

He spent most of his life as a Charizard. You can't blame him. "Char." '_and Ash gets his badge. I have a lot of making up to do for him._' he said. And no small amount of guilt for his Charmeleon and pre-Shamouti days.

Still, it was time for war.

The rock snake let out another shattering roar as it charge at Charmander, as Brock called out to him to use Bind to grapple the Fire-type.

"Dodge it, Charmander!" Ash called, Charmander being quick on his feet, jumping to the left, almost smirking. "Cha!" '_Learn to aim_!' he taunted before Onix landed, not having wrapped around his target.

"Metal Claw!" Ash called, Brock briefly going 'WHAT' before Charmander's claws turned silver-white and he charged. "Char!" '_I have you now!_' he cried as he jumped at the rock snake pokemon.

"Iron Tail!"

Suddenly Onyx's tail began to glow just like Charmander's claws - and swung down hard. Their attacks clashing with one another as sparks flew between their strikes. "Char!" I! WILL NOT! LOSE!' the fire-lizard cried as he fought hard against the move.

"Onix, Slam!" Brock ordered. And as Onix weighed over half a ton to Charmander's nine kilos, gravity did the rest as Onix lifted into the air… and crashed on Charmander.

Cracks were heard, indicating broken bones, but Ash returned Charmander quickly to prevent further injury.

"Sorry, Ash. But Shadow Pokemon will show no mercy." Brock said, not looking happy about Charmander's injuries. "You did well, though."

"We're not done yet!" Ash proclaimed, sending out a Pokeball. "Go, Noctowl!"

"NOCTOWL!" '_FINALLY!'_ Noctowl shouted as the shiny Pokemon soared up towards the ceiling. "Noct!" '_I'm gonna enjoy kicking that stone snake's ass!'_

"Another flying-type?" Brock said exasperatedly. "Even if your Noctowl is shiny, it won't do much difference!"

"I just consider the type chart another challenge!" Ash said with a grin before turning his hat around.

Brock huffed in amusement. "I like the way you think, but it might not be enough." he said, clearly liking his attitude, but not his chances.

"We'll see about that," Ash nodded, "Notcowl! Steel Wing!"

"On." '_Oh for the love of-_' Onix groaned before Noctowl swooped in, its wings glowing before crashing into the giant snake's side, as it grunted in pain. Before he could properly get back up, the small owl was already banking around and struck Onix again in the head.

"Oooowwwwwlll!" Victory is ours!' hooted the owl as his wings turned silver-white… then faded to their normal colors. "No-" 'Son of a bit-'

"Onix, Stone Edge!" Brock commanded, spears of rock flying out of the ground at Onix's command.

Noctowl banked and jinked, but one hit him in the head, cracking his beak before another smacked into his side, breaking ribs. Ash couldn't take it.

"Noctowl, return!" he cried as he fired the red beam at the owl, returning him to his ball.

"Sorry about that. Onix is still too used to dealing with flying-type shadow Pokemon. Only took the job a few years ago." Brock said. "Old habits are hard to break."

"Its fine… I get it." Ash nodded, before he glanced at his last Pokemon. The electric mouse grinned. "But now you'd best get ready… Pikachu, go!

"Pika pika!" '_About damn time!_' The small mouse shouted as it leaped atop a large stone, and stared up at Onix. "Chu!" '_Let's do this!_'

Brock palmed his face. And started laughing. "Kid, Pikachu is an ELECTRIC-type. You won't be able to thundershock your way out of-"

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash cried before Brock could finish, knowing damn well every time electrocuting a ground-type only worked was because they were wet somehow. But Onix wasn't just a ground-type: he was a rock-type. And rocks were no match for steel.

"Oh shit-Iron Tail back Onix!" Onix roared as his tail glowed once more as he swung it at the little Pikachu. He hit the ground where Pikachu was… key word being _was _as the quick and nimble mouse had jumped into the air, and spun around as he slapped his glowing tail up into Onix's chin - sending him sprawling into the wall with a resounding CRASH.

Brock swore under his breath. Pikachus weren't just electric: for their typing, they were rather versatile. They could even use Dig, a move they were weak to, for Palkia's sake!

"Mud Slap!" Brock ordered. Onix roared before attacking, but Pikachu had an edge over Onix.

He knew the rock snake all too well: he had his tells. And he took full advantage as he dodged the attack. "Quick Iron!" ash commanded.

"Quick-?" Brock began to ask, before Pikachu's tail glowed once more as if doing an Iron Tail… but then he began speeding towards Onix as if he were using Quick Attack.

Iron Tail was dangerous to begin with. But add that atop of the raw speed brought by a Quick Attack?

That was a recipe for some _major damage_.

"Onix, dodge!" Brock begged, but Onix was simply too big and heavy to dodge it completely and Pikachu was too fast to not hit the rock snake, slamming his tail, now coated in steel, into Onix's side, tearing up the rocky skin and making him scream in pain.

"Pika!" 'I'm not done!' Pikachu cried as he began striking faster and faster before Brock got his head back in the game.

"BIDE!" he yelled, Onix obeying as he charged up the move, one Ash knew too well from having to deal with it with Goomy.

Fortunately, he knew a good counter to it, but first, Pikachu had to back off. "Get back!" Ash commanded, but Onix's mouth was already glowing.

"Deflect it!" Ash yelled at Pikachu, who looked at him like he was insane. Then he charged up his tail.

"You can't deflect it, Ash: recall Pikachu and forfeit." Brock said, in both amusement that he could think that and concern for Pikachu's health. "You can try again-"

"Countershield!" Ash said, interrupting Brock.

"Chu!" '_Forgot about that_!' Pikachu squeaked before getting on his back and spinning, using Thundershock to generate a cage of electricity. Brock knew the end result. "Onix, NO!"

Too late, Onix fired. Funny thing, Bide: it's an energy attack. And Ash knew how to counter it, using Countershield, something he completely forgot about in Unova and Kalos.

He blamed Cyrus: the bastard was spiteful enough to try, even if he was going insane.

The 'cage' caught the energy stream, spinning it around before shooting it back in Onix's face.

And because it was normal-type energy, not electric, while it wasn't as effective as steel, it was enough to smack Onix in the face and send him flying to the ground, unconscious.

Ash winced. On the plus side, none of Brock's family were around or at risk of getting hurt.

"Onix!" On the other hand, Brock was probably going to be pissed, even as he checked the rock snake's body. "We'll get you to the Pokemon center." the leader said as he returned Onix to his Pokeball, before turning towards Ash. "Ash, that was reckless and dangerous. You could have gotten Pikachu killed!"

"Pikachu could handle it." Ash said with confidence. "I had faith."

"That was insane. But… well, with all the dangers out there, I suppose you had to try." the gym leader replied before sticking his hand in his pocket and removing a boulder badge. "You earned it. Let's get to the Pokemon Center and have them checked up."

Ash smiled as he nodded "Yeah, after a fight like that - I think they're all gonna want more than just a break."

Brock chuckled slightly, patting Ash's back as the two began to walk out of the Gym. "You're one crazy kid, Ash." He said, "You are gonna go _far_."

"You're… not mad over what happened with Onix?" Ash asked.

"It was a fight and Onix is still used to fighting Shadow Pokemon. Takes more than a few years for that style of thinking to fade away for a rock-type." Brock said, waving it off. "It's just the way the world is, you gotta be tough as nails and hard as a rock to survive."

"Yeah…" Ash frowned. "Tough as nails…"

* * *

Upon arriving at the Pokemon center, Ash was the first to step in - and not even three steps inside, he heard the loud sound of "ASH!" before he was tackled down to the ground and grappled tightly by the familiar form of Misty.

He barely understood half of what she was saying, something about 'sleep' and 'you weren't there'.

"Free." 'I had to knock her out.' Butterfree said as he flew out, wings flapping. "Butterfree." 'We saw how screwed up she is.'

"Oh, boy." Brock muttered. "The youngest of the Waterflowers. Ash, while Nurse Joy takes care of our Pokemon, mind… talking with me?" Misty held on tighter. "You can come along, Misty: he deserves to know the details..." With that, Brock went towards an office, giving a brief word to the local Joy.

And not making a pass at her.

"Pika?" '_Ok, what the hell? Brock NOT flirting with a Joy_?!' Pikachu said. "Ka-chu." '_This world is WRONG_...'

"Well… maybe he just knows this one better?" Ash shrugged, whispering to Pikachu to Misty couldn't overhear. "She IS the Nurse Joy he'd probably see the most being in Pewter City."

All Pikachu could do was shrug, just as clueless as the others.

Brock returned to the group, as he sat down. When he did Ash felt this surge of nostalgia… there they were, the original A-Team. Him, Brock and Misty together. For them it was the first time they've been together, but for Ash… it had been a _long _time since they've been together like this.

But it was also a bitter-sweet sensation… since Ash knew, deep down… neither of them remembered him, or all the adventures they had been on in the past. And that stung him the most.

Brock sat down behind a desk, sighing. "I take it you're… familiar with Misty's quirks?" he asked.

"She was homeschooled, mostly by Pokemon." Ash answered. "No kids her age."

"That's bad enough, but she was also… well, there's no other way to say it." Brock groaned. "Misty was mentally attacked by two particularly vindictive Shadow Pokemon. One of them a Slowbro, the other a Venomoth. And… well, I think Misty got off lucky."

Ash's blood boiled. Misty, who should have been a pretty tomboy with anger problems, was needy because she was mind-raped by two Shadow Pokemon?! If he EVER found those two-

"They're dead." Brock said, seeing Ash's reaction. "Her sisters were not exactly merciful, either… but as you can see…"

Misty looked shameful, her head bowing down a bit. "...like I've said before, it's not your fault." Brock told the water-type expert assuringly. "And now… looks like you've made a very good friend." He smiled slightly as he glanced at Ash. "Right?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. She's my friend. I'll do anything to help her." he said. Misty's eyes brightened before Brock coughed into his hand. "Misty, would you mind waiting outside for a few moments? I'd like to talk to Ash alone." the rock-type leader asked, Misty looking slightly horrified. "It won't take too long. After that, I'll see you off."

Misty looked troubled, but a confident nod from Ash caused her to sigh, before she nodded as she stepped away. "So… Ash," Brock began, facing him. "...what are your feelings for Misty right now?"

"She's my friend." Ash answered, trying to school his face to not betray his actual thoughts.

Brock wasn't fooled. "You're attracted to her." he all but stated. Ash wanted to jump and rage and deny, but all he did was sigh before Brock continued. "You know Misty somehow, but you won't tell her. Fine, that's not my business. But I can tell you have feelings for her."

"And you flirt with every woman you see that isn't wearing a wedding ring." Ash retorted coldly. Brock, taken aback, leaned back in his chair. "I see you've heard of that." he said with a hint of shame. "I have been trying to grow out of that: I have a new girlfriend, you see. She's from the Orange Islands."

It took a lot of effort from Ash to _not _widen his eyes and drop his jaw - Pikachu however _did _have that reaction, but thankfully Brock didn't seem to notice. "Oh… news to me…"

"I'm lucky enough to be with Ivy, the fact that she put up with my flirting with other women back in the day was amazing," Brock chuckled, "Still, kid… it's obvious there is something between you two - Misty trusts you more than I've ever seen her trust another person, and you clearly care for her. All I can really suggest to you is… don't waste it," He then pointed his finger at him. "And break her heart, and you won't just answer to me - you'd answer to her sisters."

"I have no intention of breaking her heart." Ash stated, anger entering his voice slowly. "I also have ZERO intention of becoming my father." Ash stood up from his chair, looking all the more enraged. "That son of a bitch left my mother and never came back. Would you want me to do THAT, Mr. Slate? WOULD YOU?!" the future pride of Pallet slammed his hands on the desk, staring into Brock's eyes, closed or not.

"You're Delia Ketchum's son." Brock said, surprising Ash. "Your mother has a reputation, one she doesn't like to advertise to the newer generation. While I don't know who your father is, I'm sure that leaving your mother was the worst choice he made and he deserves a punch to the face for it. She also has quite a temper, one you've inherited, it seems, so I'm not holding that outburst against you. Just do right by her."

Ash sighed "Sorry…" he apologized, "Its… been a hell of a week and-"

"Relax kid," Brock smiled, "I get it, just getting started on your big journey, and you've already got a whole lot of shit thrown at you. I'd be pissed, too."

Ash took in a breath and tried to calm down, closing his eyes briefly. When he opened them, he looked at Brock. "I will not break her heart. I'll find someone better than me for her. That's the only way. It will break MY heart, but as long as Misty is happy, I can live with it." he vowed.

Brock facepalmed. "That's not healthy, Ash." he said. "Maybe not. But at least I know she's better off with someone else." Ash said, his voice breaking.

"Don't lie to yourself, Ash. Besides, I doubt anyone's going to pique her interest." the rocky gym leader said. "Misty's case might be uncommon, but it's not unique. And every time it happened, it was always the person that they picked as an anchor they fell in love with."

"Misty has a schoolgirl crush on me because I saved her from that death flock. Nothing. More." Brock just gave up arguing. Ash would have smirked had it not been an argument with Brock of all people.

Still, Brock should have known better: Ash did not give up when he set his mind on something.

"Well Kid, either way, just look after her if she's joining you to your next Gym," Brock said, as he stood up. "All I can do is wish you the best of luck… I have a feeling you're gonna go _far _in this world, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town.

He extended a hand, which Ash shook. Pikachu, however, was still processing that Brock had a steady girlfriend.

"Piiiiiiiiiiikaaaaaaaa..." '_Brock, girlfriend, not normal, does not compute…_' he said before Ash scooped him up.

"You'll get over it, Pikachu." Ash said.

"Why do I get the feeling you know exactly what Pikachu said?" Brock muttered as he picked up a stack of papers.

Apparently, as the gym was not exactly paperwork (or ANYTHING) safe, he used this as his office.

So, Ash left him behind, wincing. He let Brock go once to follow his medical career. But now he didn't even have a chance to make a friend a second time.

But at least this time… he knew for certain that Brock was pretty well off. Girlfriend, his own Gym, and seemed pretty wise, and hopefully - maybe better off with his family.

Now… he had a Misty to take care of.

The door opened, misty looking like she had a mild panic attack, but was now calming down seeing Ash.

This was just wrong: Misty, panicky and scared? It wasn't her. Misty was an outgoing tsundere tomboy, not a shy wallflower.

Ash shifted the blame to Cyrus, as usual. It wasn't like he could blame anyone else.

Celebi? She barely had a link to all his Pokemon: getting a number of humans was out of the question and he knew it.

The space and time Pokemon? They were insane and not in control of their own actions.

The only other one Ash could blame was himself for not being strong enough to stop the crazy bastard.

"Hey, Misty." Ash said before Misty stopped looking like she'd go mad. "So...nearest gym is Cerulean. Are you looking forward to seeing your sisters?" Ash knew he would regret asking that.

"Not really. They'll just...force me to stay at the gym." she said, dispondantly. "I don't want to stay there! Sure, most of my Pokemon are there, but I can't grow unless I travel!"

Ash WAS tempted to say that she was staying, but that would make him even more of a hypocrite then he already was. He could understand the need to travel and grow: he couldn't stop moving to begin with!

Though before they got too close to Mount Moon, he was going to have a talk with his birds. Pidgeotto and Noctowl needed their heads checked and they needed it NOW.

* * *

Giovanni, the founder of Team Rocket, had few fears.

He owned the single, largest criminal enterprise in the world, with dozens of smaller 'copy-cat' groups that cooperated with them. He was possibly the single, most richest man in the world.

But Giovanni was only human and humans did fear, despite his ability to suppress it. And news from those three idiots (Jessie, James and their uncaptured, talking Meowth, which could talk) indicated that Ash Ketchum had defeated Brock of Pewter.

No small feat, no-badge fight or not: Brock was one of the top eight in the region, with himself on top, though he did not count the Elite Four. Only an idiot would think he was better then the Elites; it was why he was building his little army of thugs. Cannon fodder had its' uses, after all.

But Ash beat Brock. Not easily, but unlike every other trainer that took three to four matches just to knock out his Geodude, Ash won in his first match, even defeating Onix.

And to think, there was an easier option on the side-road to Pewter that bypassed Viridian Forest. Though he dealt with that psychopathic samurai in the forest, as well. But that did not worry him.

No, the fact Ash was heading for Mount Moon worried him and greatly. Giovanni feared little, after all. But his greatest fear was Delia Ketchum, the boy's mother. If one hair on her boy's head was ruffled out of place, she would rain hellfire on them all.

He knew he had to do damage control in advance, to ensure that nothing - and he meant _nothing _happened to the boy when he visited that place. Hence why he was on the line, calling his agent already on-site. Archer needed to know who was coming, and to do _nothing _to the boy or his friends or Pokemon.

But all he was getting was silence.

Then he remembered what he ordered Archer to do.

Pewter City was a near-literal stone's throw from Mount Moon. Any radio signals could be intercepted, therefore, Giovanni ordered strict radio silence, using runners only as necessary. Fossils would get him good money, but Delia was not a woman to be crossed. No amount of money was worth having her after his organization.

"Damn it." he muttered, his Persian opening a single eye to regard his trainer's curse. After all, Giovanni did not swear often. Only when he was in deep shit did he do so. Fortunately, those three idiots were outside the detection range of Pewter's radio tower, so he activated the transmitter to their frequency, hoping to use them as a relay.

He had one specially set for them, that way they wouldn't clog the airwaves with their stupidity and he could ignore them if he so wished.

"Archer," He spoke, "Pick up the damn phone you idiot…"

The relay didn't last too long, Giovanni giving up after two minutes. Archer probably shut the damn thing off, as per his orders. Either that, or Mount Moon's thick rocky exterior prevented the signal from getting through.

"To hell with it." he muttered, getting the three idiots on the horn instead. He needed to get the message through.

The image of Jessie, James and Meowth appeared on the monitor. "Boss! We were just about to-" James started, but Giovanni's stern glare shut them all up.

"I don't care whatever it was you were working on beforehand," He stated, "Because right now, the mission I am about to give you is _imperative _to Team Rocket's survival."

The idiots stood at attention. A good thing to go when Giovanni was not in the mood to entertain idiocy. "Get to Mount Moon." he ordered. "Warn Archer to get out of there and for the love of Arceus, DO NOT ENGAGE THE BOY."

"But...you told us-" Jessie started, but Giovanni cut her off. "That mission is suspended until your current one is complete. As soon as you are done, report back." he ordered before shutting off the radio and pulling out a large bottle of fine whiskey from Orre, one of the few things that desert hellhole actually did well.

Persian gave him a look. "I need this." the crime lord told the cat before pulling out a shot glass. "And you would do the same in my position."

Persian considered it...then was forced to agree.

* * *

**Two kilometers from Mount Moon - 0955 hours local time - the following day**

* * *

This was long overdue, Ash mused as he glared at his birds.

Pidgeotto, the loyal raptor who had to pick between her flock and her trainer when they could not defend themselves.

Noctowl, his only shiny, who was hard to catch, but turned into a league-worthy fighter by Hoenn.

And they needed to have their heads checked NOW.

"Okay… let me just go ahead and address the Donphan in the room," Ash began as he looked between the two birds, who looked exceptionally nervous. "This 'rivalry' you two have? This needs to stop. _Now_."

"Ow-" "Geotto-" 'Ash-' both birds started, but Ash fixed them with a glare reminding them more of an angry Misty or Delia then their trainer.

"You both nearly got KILLED. If it weren't for you being tougher then regular birds, you would be dead now!" Ash yelled, rage beginning to enter his voice. "You didn't want to learn Steel Wing together, meaning Pikachu had to waste time teaching you separately, meaning neither of you got it down and both of you got hurt! Just because I let her go in the last timeline!"

Both birds recoiled at the bile in Ash's tone. He was PISSED. And this was the first time they had SEEN him pissed. "So, for all our sakes, put this behind you or I will make Pikachu force you to put it behind you with Thunderbolts raining on you twenty-four-seven!" he yelled, panting as he ran out of breath.

Then he fell on his ass, holding his head. "What in Arceus' name is WRONG with me?" he muttered. "I don't...DO that. That's not...me."

The two birds barely noticed as they were just so startled by his declaration, as the two looked at one another. "Pidg… Pidge…" '_Look...Noctowl…_' she said, "Ot." '_I get why you're angry at me… but what would you have done? How do you choose from the flock you were born from, and the flock that raised you? They were being attacked by those Spearrows… what should I have done?_'

Noctowl blinked owlishly. "Owl?" 'They were your birth-flock?" he asked. "Geot." 'I landed for a meal. Ash caught me. End of story.' she summed up.

Now Noctowl felt like an idiot. A REALLY big idiot. Then again, he made assumptions and judged without knowing the facts. If he could, he would facepalm. But he couldn't.

"Owl." 'I'm an idiot.' he said. "Pidgeotto." 'You didn't have all the facts, Ash didn't know anything beyond they were my species and then that asshole that captured the birds at Shamouti screwed EVERYTHING up and made them migrate so far from Pallet Town, I couldn't find my way back!' the first of Ash's birds cawed. "Otto." 'At least whatever brought us back in time brought us back NOW.'

She then looked at Ash, who was still looking ashamed of himself. "Pidge-ot-to." 'Right now, our trainer NEEDS us. He might've been angry, but he was right: we need to stop fighting. Otherwise, what happened before could happen again. And NO ONE wants a repeat." she stated with finality.

The two flying-type Pokemon nodded, as they looked at Ash - they stepped up next to him, drawing his attention as both nodded in unison in agreement.

"...well, that's a positive sign…" Ash chuckled dryly.

He gave both of his birds a brief hug, lingering on Pidgeotto a bit longer partly out of guilt, before returning them. Mount Moon awaited them and so did Misty, who was feeding her own water-types while Ash dealt with the birds. Last thing he needed was Misty freaking out and giving him a marshmallow-induced death.

* * *

**Unova Region - Somewhere near the western coast - 2354 hours local time**

* * *

'_When the croc digs, the croc DIGS_.' mused Snivy as their tunnel to ash was being formed by the digging ground-type crocodile and reinforced by Roggenrola. There was enough dirt and rock above them to kill them all if done improperly, so while Sandile rested, Roggenrola reinforced the tunnel.

So far, she was VERY happy that Tepig didn't have an open flame. Pokemon still needed to breathe. "Sni." 'So, how far are we?' she asked. "Ni." 'Do I have to start acting like a plant?'

"Sand." '_I can dig a hole up if you need one,_' Sandile said, "Dile." '_We're still under the Unovan mainland, so we can still go up if you want._'

"Sni." 'We could use some air before you get tunneling.' the grass snake said, looking forward to soaking up some sunlight before the long, dark trek to Kanto.

So Sandile got digging upwards, making a small airhole for them. Coming face to face with a young girl around Ash's age as she was laying belly-first in a small grove.

The girl blinked in surprise as she was almost nose-to-nose with the Sandile, and the little Crocodile-like Pokemon also blinked in surprise. "..San?" '_Uh… hi?_' He said, startled.

She had a very Ash-like hat on, but her little sundress was anything but Ash-like (unless you asked Pikachu, who had a tale about Celadon) and she didn't look related to Ash in any way. She DID have really dark black hair, though, set in a little ponytail.

She was also scared out of her mind at seeing Sandile, jumping, screaming and backing away.

Sandile sighed. "Dile..." 'Why must dark-types have a bad reputation?' he asked himself.

"Sni?" '_What are you talking about? Just-_' Snivy began to say as she poked her own head out of the dirt, and blinked at the sight of the young girl who looked at them with confusion and fear. "Vy." '_Oh, uh… this is kinda awkward…_' The grass-type awkwardly waved at the girl "Snivy?" '_Uh, hello?_'

"Helda?" said an older woman as she walked into the clearing, clearly the older girl's mother with a small number of Pokeballs on her belt. "Why did you..." she trailed as she saw Sandile. At this point, worry turned to fury.

"Sni." 'I hate dark-type rep.' said Snivy. "Sand." 'What exactly did we do to deserve it?' asked the sand croc before the woman sent out a Mienfoo, which did not bode well for Sandile. Or for Roggenrola for that matter.

"...Sni." '_Should we run?_'

"SAND!" '_YES!_' Sandile was already tunneling back into the earth as quickly as he could.

"FOO!" cried the fighting type as he kicked the ground, punching a hole in the freshly made tunnel. "Sand!" 'Damn it!' shouted the sand croc as he continued to dig and get them as far away as possible.

"MIEN!" another foot that nearly collided with Sandile's head at lethal speed slammed through the tunnel roof. "Dove!" 'Piss off!' yelled Pidove, firing a low-powered Gust at the leg. Sandile had only one solution: dig deeper.

And dig he did, nearly running into a Diglett at one point before the ground shook from another kick before the Mienfoo screamed in pain.

"Tep." '_Ember does wonders._' said Tepig. "Pig?" '_I presume we rely on Snivy for fresh air until we get to Kanto?_'

"Pid…" '_Yes…_' Pidove sighed, "Dove." '_I remember back when things were more… ya know… PG?_'

"Snivy-vy." '_Something screwy's happened with the universe as a whole._' Snivy stated. "Ni." '_I remember Torterra telling me about some insane man named Cyrus, who tried to remake the world in his own image._'

"Rol." '_You think he did this?_' Roggenrola asked. "Rola." '_Reset the universe?_'

"Tep." '_Remind me to incinerate him if we ever meet him._' Tepig said. "Pig." '_He ruined EVERYTHING. I mean, some of us were evolved-_'

"Palpi." '_I blame him for Ash's behaviour in Unova._' Palpitoad said. "Toad." '_The others said he was a lot smarter in Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. And where did he go after fighting Cyrus? Unova._'

"Dove." '_Gonna peck his eyes out if I see him…_' Pedove growled. "Pe!"'_Like that movie we saw at the Professors! When all the non-Pokemon birds attacked the humans!_'

"Sni." 'We can all torture the bastard when we run into him.' Snivy said, musing on all the ways a grass-type could brutalize someone privately. "Snivy." 'So, Decolore? It is the best route to Kanto.'

"Sand!" 'And there's literally two miles of ocean above the tunnel I have to dig! You know how much pressure two miles of water has?!'

"Tepig." 'Enough to crush anything that isn't a Wailord or a Dewgong. We've all watched that documentary on subs going to that shipwreck.' Tepig said, remembering someone saying the pressure was enough to equal 5000 pounds per square inch, which most deep-diving water-types could handle. And the only water-type there, Palpitoad, was by no means a deep-diver.

"Sni…" '_...I wish we had a boat…_' Snivy sighed, as Sandile continued digging.

No one wanted to think of the millions of metric tons of water soon to be over their heads.

* * *

**Kalos Region - Outside Vanille Town - 0729 Hours Local Time**

* * *

"Goo." '_This is not going to work._' said Goomy as he and the others stealthy (as possible for a group like them, anyways) made their way to the town proper.

"Fro." '_Do you have any better ideas?_' asked Froakie. "Kie." '_If you do, now's the time, snail dragon._'

"Fletch-ling." '_Will you stop it? We don't have any options, unless you can force me to evolve to a Talonflame and put yourselves in Pokeballs._' Fletchling stated.

"Hawlucha?!" '_Are you INSANE?!_' asked the fighting bird. "Cha-lu!" '_You DO remember what Bayleef said about the Lake of Rage, right?!_'

"Goo?" '_The lake of what now?_' Goomy asked, looking very confused.

"Fletch." '_Bayleef told us of a story when Ash and his Johto team came across some lake, called the Lake of Rage._" Fletch explained, "Ling." '_Team Rocket caused a Magikarp to force itself to evolve into a Shiny Gyarados that had an overly aggressive temper even by _normal _Gyarados standards._' Fletchling shook her head. "Fletchling." '_I get your caution, but there is a difference between me becoming a Talonflame, and a Magikarp turning into a freaking _Gyarados_._ _Plus, I've BEEN a Talonflame before, remember?_'

"Ha." 'Do we know how that machine works?' Hawlucha retorted. "Cha." 'Maybe it affects every pokemon violently.'

"Fletch!" '_Look, I'm not talking about using a freaking machine!_' The flying-type exclaimed. "Ling! Fletch!" '_There's gotta be natural, but faster ways to evolve, ya know?_'

"Fro." 'T_raining with a trainer is the fastest way. And we're trying to _get_ to our trainer_.' Froakie said. "Froakie-fro." '_Unless you want to hijack a ship or a plane, this is our only option_.'

"Goo-my." '_Doesn't mean it's going to work. The timeline's already screwed up as it is_.' Goomy said as he deflated, emotionally and literally. "My." '_For all we know, Ash's mate doesn't know him_.'

"Fletchling!" '_She knows him! It's a universal constant_!' she chirped back.

"Ha." '_We'll find out, won't we? Come. Let's go._' Hawlucha said, choosing their only real course of action.

"Fletch, fletch.." '_Yeah, yeah…_' Fletchling sighed, shaking her head. "Ling." '_...dumb question: how are we going to convince her to take us to Ash?_'

"Froakie." 'W_e'll swim across that river when we get to it_.' the ninja frog said. Goomy had to translate that into the human phrase 'we'll cross that bridge when we get to it'.

They approached Vanille Town, but noticed something...off.

There was a large, stone wall, about 15 feet high, surrounding the town with a single heavily reinforced gate blocking access with a Houndoom and Sylveon napping at the gate, which mystified them.

"Goo?" '_What in the name of Arceus' holy ass is this_?' the snail dragon asked, which was heard by the Houndoom, who got up and howled at them.

"Doom!" '_Explain your approach, wildlings, or prepare to fight! And if any shadow Pokemon are among you, prepare to die_!' the fire hound barked, willing to back it up with his bite.

"Fro." '_Okay, first: rude._' Froakie pointed out, "Kie." '_Second, we need to get into town to find a girl named Serena - she is a friend of our trainer, Ash Ketchum. We got separated from him, and we're trying to get back to him. She is our only way to reach him in Kanto._'

The firehound looked shocked at Serena's mention before barking as a pair of Natu and a Xatu poked their heads out, then using their psychic powers to open the gate.

"Hound." '_Proceed. You will be watched_.' Houndoom stated before Sylveon gestured them to move along.

"Goo." '_I have a bad feeling about this_.' Goomy said as they entered Vannile Town. But could it be called such if half the buildings looked like they were built over 600 years ago, made of rough stone held together by mortar?

"Fro." '_Everything is so _different_…_' He mused.

"Ha." '_Where do we even start to look for her?_' Hawlucha asked. "Cha." '_Her house may not even be the same…_'

"Fletch!" '_I'll start looking for Grace's Fletchling!_' chirped the tiny robin before flying off, Goomy sighing.

"Goo?" '_Can we make sure Ash actually mates with Serena this time?_' asked the snail dragon.

"Froakie." '_He took a vow never to take a mate. Something about his father._' Froakie said as Fletchling flew back, trying to act like a hummingbird.

"Fletch!" '_Found Grace's Fletchling, but...you're going to want to see this._' said the bird.

"Goo." '_What? Is something wrong?_' Goomy asked as they followed the Fletchling to the destination…

...and everyone's eyes widened.

It looked like a small castle, with some concessions to modern building methods, like a Battle Chateau or something, only someone actually lived here.

And had a Rhyhorn that was sleeping in the front yard. Probably Grace's.

"Ha." '_What in Arceus' flaming asscheeks is this._' Hawlucha stated rather then asked.

"Goo." '_A serious malformation of the timeline, like with that freaky eyeball guy from that old game._' Goomy said with some snark.

"Froak." '_...well… we're not getting anywhere just standing here._' Froaky said as he hopped towards the castle.

"Goo!" '_Wait! How are we going to tell them we belong to Ash?_' Goomy asked.

"Fletch?" '_Wait, did you say Ash?_' Everyone glanced up in surprise as none other than Grace's Fletchling flew down towards them. '_You mean… Ash Ketchum?_'

Everyone blinked in surprise, but it was Froaky who stepped up "Fro, Foraky." '_Uh, yes… we belong to Ash Ketchum, but we got separated from him… we remember him saying that he was a friend of Serena's… could you help us out please?_'

"Fletch, ling, ling-Fletch." 'Horseshit. Ash is almost the same age as Serena and Kalos and Kanto share the same age for starting out at 14.' Grace's tiny robin retorted. "Fletch." 'Get the hell off my lawn.'

"Goomy." 'A flying/normal-type against a flying/fighting, another Fletchling, a water-type and a dragon. You're clearly insane.'

"Fletch." 'I can take you.' retorted the Kalosian bird.

"Froakie." 'Look, we're just trying to get back to Ash. He knows Serena and we knew to come here.' Froakie said.

"Fletch!" '_Yeah, plus how the hell else would we know about Ash unless he was our trainer!_' Ash's Fletchling exclaimed. "Ling!" '_And how would we know he knows Serena as a friend, unless we knew him!_'

Fletchling prepared to Screech before the door opened, revealing a slightly...older Grace. "Fletchling, what are you..." she started before looking at the collection of Pokemon, plus the egg. "Well, this is interesting. What are a bunch of wildlings doing here?"

"Fro-aky." '_We're. Not. Wildlings_.' Froakie stated firmly, growling a bit, but being careful not to growl threateningly. The others… also expressed their displeasure of being mistaken as wild pokemon as well.

"Hm…" Grace mued, scratching her chin. "You don't act like wild Pokemon… have you lost your Trainer, little ones?"

"Fletch! Fletch!" '_See, SHE gets it_!' Ash's future Talonflame chirped.

"Fletch." 'S_he's also a Rhyhorn rider that often rides WITHOUT A HELMET. Her judgement is more then slightly impaired_.' Grace's bird retorted.

"Goo." '_Really_.' Goomy stated before a slight crash was heard from inside. "Ow! Damn it!" cried a welcome voice.

Serena was near.

"Fro." _Thank Arceus. Now we can_-' Froakie said before Serena came into view. But she was not wearing the normal travel clothes they knew were her's… instead she had a very, _very _elaborate pink dress, looking very Victorian in appearance with the oversized skirt and all - which she was currently struggling with as she worked her way outside.

"Mom, WHY do I have do wear this abomination?!" Serena demanded, the broach on the dress shifting as she struggled with the dress.

"Sadly, because you need to learn to deal with being at court." Grace retorted.

"Goooomy?" '_Serena's a princess?! What the hell happened to the freaking timeline?! I miss it making sense_!' Goomy cried, much to Grace's Fletchling's confusion.

* * *

Entry 6: Politics of Kalos

While most regions use a system of government more akin to a federal republic, Orre and Kalos are major exceptions to the rule, with the latter being a partial feudal/constitutional monarchy, with noble families controlling many of the settlements in the region after the Cipher War. Vanille Town, for example, is run by the Gabena-Yeonne family, who are well-respected by the locals, if a minor noble family.

Politics in Kalos are just as cutthroat in Kalos as in Orre, but more suited around marriages and alliances, preventing total unification. However, assassinations are not uncommon. Team rocket has yet to gain any footholds here due to this.

* * *

Entry 7: Noctowl family structures

Much like normal owls, a group of Noctowl, normally families, are called parlements, usually comprised of up to 100 Hoot-Hoot and Noctowl, usually led by an elder Noctowl called a 'minister'. Noctowl often leave their parlements when captured by trainers, but they do not complain, as they often learn more then they do in the wild and often tell tales of their journeys.

Team Rocket has confirmed that Ash Ketchum's Noctowl is from a parlement from Johto, but made an overnight flight to Kanto for unknown reasons before being caught.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Well, this took a buggeringly long time to finish. Still, things happened. And no one saw Serena's twist coming-(BANG) FUCK, Jorn!**

**Takeshi Yamato: Umm… Look, Jorn, just calm down. We can do a you/Dawn fic some other time.**

**117Jorn: YOU KEEP SAYING THAT BUT IT NEVER FUCKING HAPPENS! **

**Ron the True Fan: Stop shooting at me! Anyway, next chapter, we'll have two bonuses for you-(BANG) If Jorn doesn't kill me first! (117Jorn: GET BACK HERE!)**

**Takeshi Yamato: See you all next time, readers!**

**Ja ne!**


	6. Chapter 5: Moonfall

**Ron the True Fan: Still alive! (117Jorn: Barely...) Jorn ran out of ammo, so I am not dead yet! That and we sated his rage with another fic.**

**Takeshi Yamato: So, now we head to the next chapter, as Ash's Pokemon continue their attempts to get to him, and Ash himself heads for Mount Moon.**

**117Jorn: Yeah yeah, sure. *talks on the phone* You sure? Thanks man, I owe ya one. *closes phone*. **

**Ron the True Fan: I have a bad feeling about this...**

* * *

**200 meters from the entrance to Mount Moon, Kanto Region - 0805 hours local time - Day 5 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

"Pidge." '_Ash, I need to go._' Pidgeotto said before they came up to the summit of the hill, where the entrance to Mount Moon beckoned.

"Go?" Ash asked. "...You don't mean-"

"Pid!" '_No, not THAT! It's...well, it's my flock._' the raptor said. "Pidgeoootto!" '_If that damned Fearow gets ideas-_'

"Spear." '_Doubt it. If that flock was mine, they're long gone now._' Spearow said, having been swapped back in for minor training with Ash while Charmander… terrorized the ranchers. "Row." '_Those insane bastards haven't been seen in a week now, I think._'

"Noct." '_I'm… sure your flock will be fine,_' Noctowl stated calmly. "Owl." '_If… they are anything like you, they can handle themselves…_'

Pidgeotto cooed at the unintended complement, but sadly, Ash knew otherwise. "Pige." 'They're not exactly good at fighting.' she said. 'I'll guide them to the ranch and come right back.'

Noctowl wanted to protest, but Ash spoke up first. "Go ahead." he said, smiling sadly. "Bring them to the ranch and stay there for a bit." Ash then felt wind on his hair for the first time in a week as his hat suddenly disappeared.

"Man!" '_HA! Got your hat!_' cried a small monkey-like Pokemon that put the hat on his head as he jumped down, dancing.

"Hey! You little-" Ash was about to protest, before he noticed what exactly what stole his hat… a Mankey. But not just any Mankey… but one he hadn't seen in a very, _very _long time. "...no way… Primeape?"

"Man! Mankey!" '_Hehehehe! I knew I'd run into you if I stuck around here!_' One of Ash's more… _troublesome _Pokemon exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Guilt struck Ash, as he had not returned to Primeape back in the other timeline. He completely forgot.

The little monkey Pokemon stopped jumping, noticing Ash looking down. "Man." '_Hey, what's wrong?_' the fighting-type asked as he hopped over. "Key?" '_You look like-_'

"I forgot about you. I _forgot_." Ash said, choking. "I-"

SLAP!

Pikachu's tail smacked Ash in the back of the head. "Pika." '_You have _50 _Pokemon. You can't possibly be expected to keep _all _of them on your mind at all times_.' Pikachu reasoned. "Chu." '_**You are not perfect**_.'

"Man-key!" '_Hey, it worked out for the best! You'll love the results!_' Mankey cried, jumping and putting Ash's first hat back on his noggin. "Man." '_Though I'll have to evolve AGAIN for it to work. Mind explaining what the hell caused THIS?_'

"Pika Pi." '_Remember Team Rocket?_' Pikachu said, as Mankey nodded. "Pika." '_Turns out there were other groups like them all around the world - and one group, called Team Galactic, tried to literally end the world to create some 'perfect world.' Ended up resetting the timeline, but Celebi was able to help send us back in that timeline to try and fix it… so that meant we all had to go back to our… pre-evolved states._'

Mankey paused as that processed… before cracking his knuckles. "Man-Key." '_Just give me the word Ash,_' He said, "Key!" '_I am ready to crack some fucking skulls open! I mean… I know you don't actually understand-_"

"You'll probably crack a lot of skulls open, Primeape…" Ash said, with a small smile as Mankey blinked.

"...Man?" '_Holy shit, did he understand me?_'

"Spear." '_It's how you old guard were brought back._' Spearow said as he hopped on ash's other shoulder. "Spearow-spear." '_Apparently, Celebi tied your minds to Ash's and sent you back in time. ALL of you, from Pikachu to Noctowl and Arceus knows who else he caught. I never got told who: there was never time._'

"Man?" '_He didn't catch you?_' The fighting-type asked, confused.

"Spearow." '_New catch in this timeline, apparently. Not regretting it, though._' the bird confirmed. "Row." '_I'll give you a bloody history lesson when we go back to the ranch, unless Ash wants type-advantage in that damned cavern._'

"Up to you, Primea-Mankey. Could get a early start on that skull smashing."

"Mankey!" '_I like the sound of that!'_

"Alright."

The group finally emerged from the treeline, sizing up Mount Moon as is towered over them. The very first time Ash came here, he helped Seymour protect the Clefairy that called the mountain home from Team Rocket. Speaking of the bespectacled scientist, where was he?

Misty, who was tending to Starmie, noticed him and Ash was prepared for the uncomfortably affectionate hug. Instead, she was just confused, thinking he was just behind her the entire time.

That was a really bad thing, Ash noted: she needed to heal, but she couldn't stay near him. He was a danger magnet and with the new rules of reality, she was more likely to get killed.

"A new capture?" she asked, a minor tremor in her hand from realizing Ash wasn't within arm's reach for a while.

"Yeah..." Ash half-lied. Primeape, or rather Mankey at the moment, was an old-timer he...forgot. He was half-tempted to take that handmade abomination in his pack and shoot himself in the foot for that. "Let's go to the Pokemon Center up there: I'll send Spearow back to the ranch, we can rest our teams and go through the caves."

"Man!" '_Awesome! I've missed Brock's cooking!"_

"Pika pi…" '_We have a lot ot fill you in on…'_

* * *

Dust and the click-clack of pickaxes filled the caverns of Mount Moon. Team Rocket grunts carefully uncovered fossils, packing them into containers and bringing them over to a Rocket paleontologist to identify and categorize.

A man in a white version of the Rocket uniform, mixed with a suit much like Giovanni's, smirked as his grunts dug and gathered money from the rocks, his green hair standing out among the rabble.

"Administrator!" cried a grunt, almost in terror as she ran up to him, panting before saluting. "Sir, we have received a messenger from the boss, demanding to meet with you!"

"Calm down. I'm sure it's something mundane." Giovanni had ordered radio silence on this op to try and prevent Brock from detecting their intrusion into the mountain, which meant that he had to send runners. Still, the Boss sending a messenger to him meant something was up.

At least, he thought that, until he saw WHO had been sent.

The long red hair and the close-cropped blue of those...IDIOTS that just would. Not. DIE.

They had been shot at in Hoenn with bazookas (as in actual Super Bazookas!) and were still alive. They once stepped on a land mine from the Cipher Wars and were not dead.

They poked Whitney's Miltank and even after the pink terror used Rollout on them AND Whitney tried to kill them with high explosives, bullets and her cast-iron bat, they DID NOT DIE.

So why the hell were Giovanni's official bullet sponges - Giovanni literally called them that during a meeting of the admins five years prior - HERE and not pissing off the Leagues somewhere else?!

"What the hell are you three doing here?!"

"Archer!" Jessie yelled. "We've been sent by the Boss! He told us to tell you to stop everything and pull out! Boss' orders!"

"Yes, I heard you the first time." Archer rolled his eyes. "Did he tell you why?"

"Not really." James said. "He just told us to tell you."

"He kinda sounded nervous!" Their talking Meowth stated.

The greenette groaned. The TRio, as the media referred to them as, were known for two things: their inability to just DIE and being slightly crazy. For all he knew, this was them suffering another session of their collective insanity and if he took their 'message' as truth, Giovanni would contact him in a week and ask why he wasn't doing his job.

So, he erred on the side of reason and for lack of better term, basically gave them the finger.

"Jessie, James, I am not in the mood for your antics." Archer declared, his voice having a slight edge to it now. "So, I suggest you either pick up a tool and get to work or you can annoy someone else!"

Meowth scowled. "Hey! If the Boss finds out you disobeyed orders, he's gonna be pissed!"

Archer waved a dismissive hand. "I said bother someone else."

The TRio looked at each other. "The Boss said no Team Rocket should be in the Mountain right?"

"Right…"

"And we're Team Rocket, right?"

"Right..."

They quickly got the hell out of dodge.

Archer huffed. Like Giovanni would order them to leave when they had an almost literal goldmine to harvest.

* * *

**Mount Moon Entrance - 0845 hours Local Time**

* * *

There were Geodude EVERYWHERE.

There was also a huge amount of Zubat, far more than Ash had ever seen, roosting on the ceiling.

"Mi..." '_New friends_?' asked Mimikyu as she looked at the massive colony of bats on the cave roof.

"Pika." '_No. There's too many to catch and Ash doesn't want to catch any more Pokemon if he can avoid it._' Pikachu explained, hoping Mimikyu didn't get depressed.

Thankfully, she wasn't. "Mi!" '_So it's a members-only club_!' she cried cheerfully.

Pikachu blushed at the cuteness. "Pika." '_Sure, let's go with that.''_

Ash shook his head at the banter that only he and other Pokemon could understand. There were some, albeit minor, benefits to this entire situation. He allowed himself a small smile as he looked around, looking for the pink fairies that inhabited the mountain-

"Clefairy!" ' '_ello there!'_

A pink form looked at him from behind a rock, smiling as the fairy-type looked at him and seeing if he was 'evil'. Clefairies were sensitive to emotions, after all. Not to the degree of the Togepi line, mind you, but sensitive enough.

Eventually, the fairy-type decided he wasn't truly evil, though judging by the frown, the Clefairy noticed that he had certainly been TOUCHED by it on a number of occasions. Ash winced at remembering his brief 'contact' with the King of Pokelantis and his own stupid choice to release him from that Pokeball prison.

In his defense, he thought a Ho-oh was trapped inside, but he knew better now.

"Oh, a Clefairy!" Misty exclaimed, noticing the pink ball herself.

"Clef!" '_Follow me good ones!'_

Ash shot his pokemon a look. "Let's see where it's going."

"Pika!" '_On it!_' Pikachu darted forward, with Mimikyu following closely.

"Mi!" '_Are we getting new members?'_ she asked almost childishly. That brought up a question, though.

"Pi?" '_How...old are you_?' asked Pikachu.

"Mi?" '_I don't know. A few years? I never counted_.' Mimikyu answered as she hopped along.

Ash paid little mind to the discussion, instead following the Clefairy through small grags in the rock, Mimikyu hopping from rock to rock, following Pikachu.

Ash's nose began to bleed from the overflow of knowledge in his skull again, this bit coming from Boldore, Celebi apparently not having done a good enough job to keep it from effecting him physically.

He cursed under his breath, pinching the flow closed. Ash watched as the Clefairy came to a stop amid a group of Clefairy, and the giant Moon Stone.

He heard Misty come to a stop beside him. "Whoa… What is that?"

"It's a Moon stone." Ash answered without really thinking. "A giant one, too."

"Pika!" '_Ash!' _

The trainer turned to his starter to see the electric mouse and his dark imitator beside a group of fairies, some of which looked… injured.

Some looked like they were hit with rocks, others...with bullets.

This reminded Ash of why he hated guns. All they did was hurt people and Pokemon. But who did this? Hunter J was a big one, but unless she changed drastically, she didn't unduly injure money-making Pokemon.

"Clef-ary." '_They've been hunting for us and the Moon Stone for weeks. The black people with red Rs don't respect the will of the Creators_.' One of the Clefairy said, tugging on Pikachu's arms. "Clef." '_We can't hold them back forever. Please, thunder mouse, convince your trainer to help us drive them out of our home!_'

Pikachu shot Ash a look. "Pika…." '_Ash… I don't think this is _just _the idiots.' _He growled dangerously.

"Yeah…" Ash didn't have a lot of experiences with Team Rocket outside the idiots, but he knew that they were… _marginally _smarter. And with this new universe and and how things were, the actual Team Rocket was probably much more dangerous.

"Where are they?" Ash asked the Clefairy. "Cle?" '_Can he...understand?_' the fairy-type asked.

"Pika, Pika-pi." 'It's a long story, but he understands every word you just said. What do you need us to do?' Pikachu asked.

* * *

**Pewter City - 915 hours local time**

* * *

Brock put down his pen, sighing as he rolled his shoulders to work out the kinks. He was no paperpusher, but the League's politics demanded paperwork be done by all gym leaders within the alliance. Kanto was on the cusp of unification once more and Brock knew it, but until there was a centralized and unified government, Brock was more or less the military and political leader in Pewter.

Not a good combination for most. Sabrina was noticeably...unhinged, but loyal enough to the League.

But that meant that he, alongside volunteers and Officer Jennys, were the only ones to protect and patrol the area. The only reason he hadn't nabbed that murderous ronin in the forest was because he was sneaky, he knew when to pick his fights, and as Brock went in with a full team of Rock-types, nothing the ronin had could touch him.

But now the murderer was gone, done in by the very forest he claimed as his own. The Gym Leader also patrolled the caves of Mount Moon. Sadly, due to the new league season opening, he couldn't do it as often as he liked.

Paperwork for Pokemon injuries, damage to the gym, complaints about noise, gym licence renewals...it did not END.

That, fortunately, was about to be put aside, not that he knew it.

"Sir!" said a Jenny as she walked into his office, before going into a salute, albeit begrudgingly. Brock HAD hit on this one before and the Jennys did not forgive nor forget.

That being said, they were police. There were rumors they were all clones, grown in tubes under Indigo Plateau, waiting to be awoken and unleashed like an army of clones.

In reality, they all looked alike due to a genetic defect. They only started looking different when they got to their late 50s.

"What is it Jenny?" Brock asked, waving off the salute, grateful for the interruption from the accursed paper.

"One of our volunteers just radioed in. He spotted two Team Rocket members leaving Mount Moon."

Brock sat up straight. "Team Rocket? Did he have a description?"

"Yeah, and, well, it's _them._"

"Oh great. The TRio. Did they have anything?"

"Well, that's the thing. They rushed in, stayed for thirty minutes, then rushed out." she said, confused but attentive.

"That doesn't make any sense. Usually those idiots are used by the Rockets to stir up insane amounts of chaos and cause nothing but trouble." Brock said before thinking about it.

Those three were relatively high-ranking grunts. Not admins like that asshole Archer or that bitch Ariana, but generally when they had more Rockets working with them, they were in charge. But they were still grunts and that meant they were used for everything from making his life hell to...

Acting as couriers.

"Get the militia ready." Brock said, referring to the citizens of Pewter that would usually join the police in dealing with Rockets. While the ancient cities of Pokelantis and Pokemopolis were more famous, there was a more powerful nation that operated in Kalos called Rhōm, which wasn't exactly Pokemon-savvy, but they had the most dangerous citizen-armies that ever existed. The early kings and queens of Kalos wiped them off the face of the earth after they gained the loyalty of Pokemon, but the model of their legions existed to this day and was used, loosely, in much smaller number and with concessions to a modern world, by the militias of Kanto. This included Pewter.

"I think we have a Rocket operation running right under our noses. We're gonna evict them."

Jenny nodded, turning to leave, before seemingly remembering something. "Oh, and the volunteer said that he spotted two trainers entering the mountain."

Brock blinked. "Oh no."

Ash and Misty. They had, unknowingly, walked into a warzone. 'Damn the League and their paperwork! I should be out there, making sure Pewter and all the trails leading out of it are safe, not tied to a desk!' he thought as he got up and retrieved his pokeball belt.

There was no time to lose.

* * *

**Mount Moon - Roughly the same time**

* * *

"Get them, RattaTA!" The Rocket grunt yelled as he was hit by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, sending him and his Pokemon sprawling.

"Charmander, destroy the equipment! Mankey, cover him!"

"Char!" '_Yes! Destroy everything!'_

"Mankey!" '_Come on ya idiots! Let me smash your heads in!"_

It had been a session of sneaking in for the trainer pair, as unlike the Clefairy clan, they could move around faster and with their Pokeballs could carry a small army without getting spotted. That came to an end when a Grunt spotted them and raised an alarm.

"Pika?" '_Well now what are we going to do?_

"They're all about profit right? Then we make it unprofitable for them. Destroy the gear and anything they can make money off of." Ash said, releasing his entire team to cause all kinds of hell.

It made sense: if this world was screwed up in so many ways, Giovanni would not be happy losing his money-making operation but even more angry that his equipment was destroyed as it was not easy to replace in any way.

It would help the police take down the Rockets and might make life easier in the long run if their operations were hamstringed. It might also want Giovanni to kill him, but to be honest, Ash was beginning not to care about Giovanni's rage: he had faced the bosses of four other groups and came out with his skin attached, Cyrus having technically 'won', but when the man went insane and died soon after, it was no victory.

"Pika!" '_You heard him! Wreak havoc!' _

"Charmander!" '_That's what I want to hear!' _The small fire dragon let out an Ember as his claws took on a metalic sheen and grew, charging at a small hoard of Rattata, sending purple bodies flying.

"Mankey!" '_Save some for me!" _The Fighting-type shouted, hopping in alongside his fellow Fire-type, taking out Machop, Sandslash, Koffing, anything that came close.

"Owl!"'_Stop running ahead you idiots!" _Noctowl covered them from any flying types, his Steel Wing carving through air and enemy Pokemon.

* * *

A small explosion made Archer's eye twitch in annoyance. 'The LAST thing I need right now.' he mentally groused before a screaming Grunt smacked into the ground at his feet.

While he and Giovanni were not… friends, they did share a similar vice. They enjoyed it when people suffered a painful fate.

Except the TRio, because they were basically impossible to kill.

And while he would have enjoyed the grunt's suffering another time, things were blowing up. _His _things. His very important, very _expensive _things.

They were compromised. But all was not lost. They still had a good amount of fossils.

"Pull out! You all, grab as many fossils as you can, you, hold off the intruders as best as you can. We're salvaging everything we can." the admin ordered before more things began exploding.

Of course, he knew who to blame for this one: the local Clefairy, who had been giving him nothing but headaches for weeks. If it wasn't Brock being a pain in the rear, preventing him from continuous operations in fear of having Brock's infamous rock-types sicced on him, it was those annoying fairy-types and their annoying moral code that was as fickle as Giovanni's cat the first time Archer tried to rebel against the Rocket Boss.

His first Houndour did not survive the encounter.

That said, he had to cover their escape. To be honest, there was really only so much a grunt could do. He _did _have a lot of mining explosives.

"You three! Grab the mining explosives, and lay them along our escape path!"

A shadow bolt slammed into one of the Zubat, followed by the one that caused it, a Pikachu, to Iron Tail a Koffing with a Quick Attack boost. At this moment, Archer figured out WHY the TRio 'ordered' him to GTFO of Mount Moon.

Standing orders for all Rocket personnel: stay the hell away from Shadow Pokemon. "Pikachu, look out!" cried a young man with a League cap on his head, who was commanding the Pokemon attacking the Grunts.

'A Shadow Pikachu commanded by a trainer. This is either bad or VERY bad.' thought Archer as a beam of cold nearly hit him in the face, cast by a Clefairy using Metronome as the pink Pikachu lookalikes attacked his troops from gaps in the rockface.

"Houndoom, Faint Attack on that Pikachu!" Acher called, sending out one of his Pokemon, and the large Dark/Fire type raced forward, weaving through the chaos to hit the former Shadow Pokemon.

"Pikachu! Mimikyu, use Scratch!"

Archer was astonished to see an Alolan pokemon, the infamous Disguise pokemon, no less, slap his Houndoom, causing it to flinch away.

"Mimi!" cried the ghost-type, causing a minor cut near the dark pup's left eye, right before he was smacked by a pin fired by a Beedrill, buzzing up above and giving aid to the ghost-type.

"Burn the Beedrill down!" Houndoom complied, letting loose a Flamethrower.

"Beedrill, dodge! Noctowl, Steel Wing!"

The Bug-type darted away and a Flying-type replaced it, cutting into the canine's flank, causing it to howl in pain.

Archer swore. "Houndoom, use Smog to cover the area!"

His pokemon complied, using the poison move as a makeshift Smokescreen.

"Fall back!" Archer ran, passing the explosives and accepting a detonator from one of the grunts that set them up.

The admin flipped the detonator switch open, arming the explosives. "NOCTOWL, STOP HIM!" cried a girl that had escaped his notice. A girl that-

'Shit, the Waterflower brat!' Archer thought, right before air slammed into him, almost knocking him off his feet and nearly making him lose the detonator. Which, at this point, would be a good thing, as pissing off Brock Slate AND Daisy Waterflower was a very Bad Idea, as Daisy wasn't as stupid as she often pretended to look and was still dangerous enough to be a threat to most of the grunts AND to an Admin. Having two gym leaders on his ass - and by consequence, Team Rocket's - was not a good thing.

Too little, too late, though, as his thumb pressed the switch down, setting off the explosives.

* * *

Brock looked up as a fireball erupted from the side of Mount Moon.

"Oh no…" He slammed on the hood of the truck he rode in. "Double time!"

* * *

Ash coughed, looking down at Misty as rocks bounced off of his back. "You okay, Misty?"

Misty groaned, a small cut on her forehead bleeding and soaking her hair. "I-I'm ok." she said before hugging him, her...assets not doing Ash any favors. But like a certain meme, he crushed it with ease, looking back at Mount Moon. "The Clefairy!" he yelled before looking back to see nothing but collapsed rocks and - creeply and horrifyingly to Ash - the occasional hand or leg from a Rocket Grunt.

He killed them. He killed so many people. 'OhArceus,please,no-' Ash thought before getting the usual Pikachu tail smack. "Pika!" '_You didn't kill them! That green haired asshole did_!' he practically roared.

Even with his starter slapping some sense into him, Ash couldn't help but stare at the rubble in shock. Which was why he saw the rubble shift, and a small pink hand stick out.

"A survivor!" Ash shouted, scrambling forward, grabbing rocks and shoving them out of the way, uncovering a bruised, dirty young Cleffa.

"Cle-cleff..." 'Mama? Papa?' asked the young fairy-type. Ash winced and really felt depressed. He just orphaned a Pokemon, something he never wanted to do and wanted to just-

SMACK! "Pikapi!" '_Ash, stop it! You are not responsible for this! The Clefairys knew what might happen and accepted it!_' Pikachu reasoned.

Ash sighed. "You're right." He looked back to the little Cleffa in his arms, giving out another world-weary sigh. "I'm sorry, little one, your mom and dad aren't… aren't here anymore."

"Cleff-a?" "_Oh… are they coming back?"_

Ash's heart seized up. "No… they're not. I'm sorry."

The baby fairy didn't seem to understand until she looked at the rocks. And promptly began screaming in terror. Something Ash could relate to.

He wanted to do the same thing.

Boots hitting the rocks caught the attention of the humans, Ash nearly reaching for the handmade gun before seeing it was just Brock, carrying a rifle of some kind before he, too, relaxed. "Oh, thank Arceus you two are alright." Brock muttered before seeing the rocks and the dead grunts. "Good lord. What happened here?!"

"Team Rocket was here. They were digging something up and attacking a Clefairy colony." Misty said, Ash redoubling his efforts to calm the Cleffa down. "We offered to help the Clefairy, but..." The rubble was self-explanatory.

Brock sighed. "Did you see who was leading them?"

Misty shot Ash a sympathetic look. "He had green hair, a white uniform, and had a Houndoom."

Brock growled. "Sounds like Archer. He's been a plague for years." he said, confusing Ash as the Cleffa had wailed herself to sleep. Brock noticed. "Right, you're from Pallet. Archer's been raiding the roads for years. Lack of air travel makes commerce a pain."

Ash did not want to know how screwed up this world was and left it at that.

"The road through Mount Moon is blocked thanks to those bastards." the Gym Leader stated, knowing the roads through the mountains better than anyone. "And no one's stupid enough to go OVER Mount Moon without the right gear, so...you'll have to go through Rota if you want to get to Western Kanto."

A chill washed over Ash and he began hyperventilating. Rota. He had died there, and had no wish to go back to that damned tree. If that Mew forced his hand, there'd be hell to pay.

He jumped as Brock laid a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you alright Ash?"

Ash took a deep breath and gave a shaky nod as Pikachu climbed up on his shoulder. "I'm fine. Everything's just… catching up to me."

Brock sighed, writing Ash's reaction off as stress. '_Today's going to haunt him for the rest of his life." _He thought. "_I should contact one of the League psychiatrists." _

He was going to have a LONG day...

* * *

**Viridian City - Gym**

* * *

"I ordered you to get out of that damned mountain!" Giovanni yelled at Archer after the man got past the Pewter teleport dampeners, which prevented him from just teleporting out with the fossils.

Which he lost ANYWAYS.

"I was following orders." Archer retorted.

"The TRio was sent to tell you to pack up, and what did you do? You told them to fuck off! Now we've lost valuable, irreplaceable equipment, and at least ten percent of our grunts are dead, trapped, or left in the 'care' of the Clefairies. What do I have to do? Appoint those idiots as my personal messengers!?"

In all fairness, Archer had a point: those three were known for their collective insanity, so Rocket Admins tended to ignore them. That being said, pissing off Delia Ketchum was a BAD IDEA. Archer was worried about the Waterflowers, but they had NOTHING on the boy's mother.

Archer should have known that.

"Look, from now on, if the TRio tells you to do something, you do not question it, you do it. Pass that on to the other Admins as well. Also, tell them, direct from me, to not engage Ash Ketchum if at all possible. Pass that on to _everyone_."

Archer rolled his eyes. "Yes sir."

"Do not disobey me, Archer. Team Rocket has many enemies." Giovanni leaned forward slightly as he finished. "Ash Ketchum's mother is one I would rather not face."

Archer internally scoffed. He feared the brat's _mother_? No wonder he wasn't getting anywhere. 'I will have your head, boy. You and your girlfriend.' Archer thought as he saluted Giovanni. 'Well...your head. Your girlfriend, though...' With that thought, Archer turned and left.

* * *

**Vanille Town, Kalos Region - 1109 hours local time**

* * *

"Goomy!" '_I demand to know WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL IS GOING ON!_' Goomy cried as he looked at the fancy-dressed Serena.

"Huh. Mom, why do we have a bunch of wildings on our lawn?"

Being called wilds snapped the group of of their shock. "Froakie!" '_We are not wildings! We just want to get to our trainer!'_ Froakie cried out.

"Someone's uppidy." Grace said, looking at the motley assembly of Pokemon. Fletchlings could be caught anywhere, but Goomy were native to swamps alone. Hawlucha were normally forest-dwellers and finally Noibats lived in caves. All of which were too far for them to just meet up at random and nowhere near Vanille.

Serena kneeled and picked up Froakie. She did not look...ok. There was a slight twitch in her right eye which happened at random and there were slightly dark circles under her eyes, which was more a sign of makeup hiding how bad it was. "Maybe we can send them to Ash." she said, thoughtfully yet impulsively, like there was some ulterior motive behind it.

"Froo-kieee." '_Uhhhh, I think something's up with Serena guys."_ Froakie said cautously.

"Haw?" '_How so?'_ the fighting hawk asked.

"Froak." '_She's got bags under her eyes like she's not sleeping well and she's… twitching.'_ the ninja replied, with a well-timed twitch, which only unnerved him more.

"Well, if you want to give them to him, just chuck a ball-" Grace started before Goomy torched her with a weak Dragonbreath.

She was fine, before you start wondering. It was enough to get a point across, not injure.

Serena blinked before coming to a conclusion. "They know Ash!" she said cheerfully. A bit TOO cheerfully, if you asked Froakie: it was actually scaring him. "And they clearly want to be only caught by him." she then added more coldly, which made Goomy shudder slightly.

"Gooooo…" '_This is scary…."_

"Froakie!" '_You're telling me: I'm being held by her!"_

Grace brushed off some ash from the Dragonbreath. "Well, that poses a bit of a problem. The next passenger ship to Kanto doesn't arrive for another two weeks, and even then, it's a five month trip."

"Oh I don't mind." Serena smiled, readjusting her hold on Froakie to hold him like a teddy bear, much to his discomfort.

That made no sense to them. Ash and Pikachu arrived her by jetliner the last time. "Flet?" 'Can't they fly?' asked Ash's tiny robin. "Fletch." 'Do I look like a Talonflame to you? There's no way I can fly them to Kanto.' Grace's bird retorted.

"Goo?" 'What about airplanes?' asked the dragon.

The seemingly royal Fletchling chirped in annoyance. "Flech." '_There haven't been operational airlines in almost 70 years! Not since those assholes from Orre unleashed their FUCKING plague on the rest of the world_!' replied the bird. "Flechling!" '_Don't you already know that_?!'

Hawlucha was not in the mood. "Haw." 'Pretend we don't.' the hawk retorted.

"Flletch...ling..." '_How can you all be so...oh, never mind. Just get inside_.' Grace's bird chirped before flying in. "Supposed that answers that." Grace said. "If Fletchling says you're good, you can come on in!"

"Froak." '_She DOES have brain damage_." Froakie deadpanned.

"Well Serena," Grace continued as they led the pokemon into the very pretty home. "If we are going all the way to Kanto, perhaps you could start your journey there."

"Mom!" Serena shouted semi-indignantly, although the Kalos 'mons could see that see was chomping at the bit to spend _more _time with Ash.

"There is the option of staying here-" Grace started before Serena glared at her, nearly snarling at the very IDEA of staying in Kalos rather then going to Kanto and to Ash.

While they were happy to see Serena wasn't in the mood to stay and wait, her aggression towards her mother, which in the other timeline was mere annoyance, was shocking to Ash's Kalosian team.

What in the name of the Creation Dragons and their Lord Father Arceus happened to Serena? Ash's mate was seemingly more bi-polar than a Malamar and almost as angry as a Primeape.

Grace led them out to a courtyard, where they were greeted by a…

"Vui!" '_Hi!'_

A brown fluffball with legs, a playful panda, and a fiery fox.

All faces Ash's team knew well. This was Serena's team.

"Goo-my..." "_Why… are they here already? This… doesn't make… sense." _The poor slime dragon sounded confused and mentally defeated, what with all the brain-fuckery that was going on.

"Hawlucha." '_It actually does_.' the fighting/flying-type said. "Lucha-hawlucha." '_For some screwy reason, Serena is some sort of noble. It makes sense that a noblewoman have her team with her. Even if Serena being a noblewoman makes no damned sense to US_.'

It was ironic, but it made sense. They didn't have any idea what the hell was going on, but the facts they did have fit perfectly.

The world was, for lack of a better term, _beyond fucked_, therefore, more extreme measures of self-defense were required. Thus, Serena had her team with her before she even left Vanille. How Serena was a noble made no damned sense, but hey, in this world, what DID?

"You know," Grace said as Ash's pokemon said hello to Serena's "With how these four act whenever we mention Ash, I can't help but think they have some sort of destiny bond with the boy."

While she wasn't wrong, as they were meant to be together, in this case, they just wanted to go home. And Kalos was not home.

Serena smiled. "We're going to Kanto! And I can finally ask Ash to..." she trailed off before just smiling.

"You're not marrying him. He's below your station, Serena." her mother retorted.

Grace actually got a more powerful Dragonbreath for THAT comment, setting her shirt arm on fire. Serena couldn't help but giggle. "Really defensive about Ash are you?"

"GOO. MY!" '_Higher than you, _bitch!" retorted the snail before firing off a burst that actually HURT.

* * *

**Near Ecruteak City - Johto Region - 1749 hours local time**

* * *

The egg was surrounded by rocks and dirt to keep the forest from lighting on fire and basically ruining everyone's day.

Seriously, forest fires _suck_.

This idea was Cyndaquil's brainchild, as hauling around an egg would only slow them down. Her idea was basically 'hatch Phanpy' so he could run himself instead of needing to be carried.

"Toto?" '_You sure this will work_?' asked Totodile, who watched as Cyndaquil grabbed the egg from Heracross and with difficulty placed it in the makeshift firepit.

"Quil!" '_Of course it will!_' retorted the fire badger.

Heracross shook his head and turned his attention to the trees. Now that he finally had time for a break, he could indulge himself for a bit. However, was a bit too zealous in his mission to get to the sap and ran headfirst into a tree.

"Dile!" '_Arceus, Heracross, control yourself!"_

"Hera…" '_Sorry.' _"Hera-" *PLOINK*

Heracross blinked as something bounced off his carapace, and turned to see a very large pine cone lying next to him. That had eyes.

"Pineco." said the cone, which was more of a pained groan. Until they evolved into Forretress, they weren't the most durable of Pokemon.

Even if that durability came at the expense of being insanely easy to set on fire. Steel was the WORSE combination typing a bug could ask for. Just ask Tracy's Scyther: he wanted nothing to do with a Steel Coat.

"Pine..." '_Ok, that hurt..._' the Pineco said before looking around and seeing the others, including Pokemon that were not native to his part of the forest. Totodile knew what the bug-type was thinking: they were trainer Pokemon.

"CO!" '_A trainer! THANK ARCEUS! CATCH ME!_' cried the pinecone, much to the confusion of all. Most Pokemon ran or fought. This...was not usual.

"Cyndaquil?" '_Uh, we don't have a trainer?'_

"Todo." '_Yet,'_

"Pineco…." '_Oh… damn. I was really hoping there would be a trainer.'_

"Hera-cross." "Why _do you want to be caught?_'

The large pine cone shook itself. "Pineco." '_Hey, the world's pretty shitty.' _"Pineco-pine." '_A trainer would care for me, protect me and all that stuff!_'

Chikorita would have raised an eyebrow in the style of that sci-fi guy if she had eyebrows. "Chic?" '_That makes no sense. You want to be caught? While we're making our way to our trainer, we put up a fight when he tried to catch us!_' she retorted, coming up with an excuse for why they were together on the spot.

"Pine." '_Shadow Pokemon are EVERYWHERE, especially here in Johto. Don't you all know that_?' asked the Pineco.

More mysteries. They had no idea what was going on and their objective was 'get to Ash', not 'learn the history of the world'. They didn't even know what a shadow Pokemon WAS. Was it the shadow of a Pokemon or something?

Everyone froze as a roar tore across the forest. They all knew that roar: it belonged to a Tyranitar, but it sounded different. Dark. Evil. Corrupted.

"Pine-co." '_That. That's a Shadow Pokemon."_

"Chic?" '_So what do we do?_'

Another roar sounded, this time much closer.

"Pine." '_Run.'_

A hyper beam tore through the forest, Heracross barely getting Phampy's egg in time before they began fleeing as trees fell apart, followed by a fast moving, PISSED OFF looking Tyranitar.

There would be Godzilla/Gojira jokes being thrown left and right by the Ashmons, but at the moment, they were running for their lives.

"QUILLL!" '_I'm having flashbacks to Ilex Forest and that PSYCHOPATH Rocket here!_' Cyndaquil screamed. "CYN!" '_Starting to think we ran into Shadow Pokemon before!_'

"Chika!" 'No shit! That Scizor was just like this!' Chikorita replied, making them realize that the world was VERY screwed up if these things were EVERYWHERE.

Another hyper beam set several trees on fire, preventing the majority of the group from escaping forward, which was their only option, as turning...well, the Tyranitar would catch up and then their lives would not be very happy for long.

"CHIKA!" '_I am not dying here!'_

The Tyranitar locked onto them like that robot from that sci-fi movie and opened its mouth to charge another Hyper Beam-

Only to get a faceful of someone else's Hyper Beam.

The group jumped and looked up to see the serpentine form of a Dragonair snake across the sky above.

"That's enough of that!" They heard a voice call out.

Riding the serpentine dragon was a woman with a cape and wearing what would normally be considered a rather scandalous jumpsuit, with light blue hair. Some of them recognized her, as they had fought her in the past.

Clair Wataru, cousin of Lance, Dragon-type gym leader of Blackthorn City. "I would suggest leaving." she said, addressing Ash's team. "I will deal with the Tyranitar."

The Shadow Pokemon charged up another attack, this one being pitch black in color as it glared at the Dragon-type pseudo-legendary.

"Dragonbreath!" Clair called out, and Dragonair opened its mouth and let loose a powerful stream of purple flames.

The Shadow Tyranitar let loose a pitch black beam that looked like a Hyper Beam. The two attacks slammed into each other, but the black beam punched through. Dragonair saw it coming and easily dodged out of the way.

"Dragon Tail!" Clair commanded as she hopped off her ride. The pseudo-legendary darted forward, its tail glowing with power and slammed it into the rampaging dark-type's side. It roared, bringing it's head around as chilled air escaped from it's maw.

"Crap, Ice Fang! Get out of there Dragonair!" Clair commanded. Meanwhile, Heracross was trying to lift all of them out of there and fly off.

Sadly, the rules of insect flight hit him like a truck and he could only get a few dozen feet away before having to drop them.

"Hera..." '_I hate being me._' Heracross stated.

"Pine." _You and me both_!' Pineco said as they got a bit further before watching the fight, Dragonair's tail turning silver with an Iron Tail, smacking the rock-type in the face. Clair, now on the ground, pulled out some form of weapon. It was big and long, with Clair pumping some kind of action before shouldering the weapon and firing with a 'THUMP', which hit the Tyranitar after a moment, causing an explosion that hurt the insane quasi-legendary. Sadly, it was a rock-type.

And rock-types don't injure easy.

But she wasn't done. As her dragon let out another Hyper Beam, she worked the action and fired again, hitting the Tyranitar on the head, sending it stumbling into the Beam. She did it again, hitting the monster's arm. As the smoke cleared, it roared.

A ball of dragonic energy slammed into the Shadow Pokemon's face, making it rear back before Clair racked the weapon and fired again.

"Cynda." '_We need to leave._' declared the fire mouse as the battle continued. As they were, they had no chance in facing the Shadow Pokemon and they would be of no help to Clair.

"Her." '_I hate to run from a fight… but you're right._' Heracross nodded, "Cross." '_Plus… it looks like Clair's dealt with these… _things _before…_'

"Pine." 'Not here. Must be visiting that jackass in Goldenrod with the Miltanks.' the Pineco added. While they did not agree that Whitney was a 'jackass', the Miltank certainly WAS.

Thick Fat was just unfair in a Pokemon that already had insanely high defensive abilities and weighed half a metric ton.

"Chika!" 'Let's just find Noctowl and get the hell out of here before that monster finds us AGAIN!' Chikorita yelled as the fight continued, a final explosion being heard as they fled the scene.

* * *

**Pewter City Gym - Slate Residence - 1921 Hours local time**

* * *

At least Brock's siblings were still alive. Ash could comfort himself with that thought, as Brock's father wasn't there and he never knew what happened to Mrs. Slate.

"You have so many Pokemon!"

"Usually shadows are scary, but your Pikachu's really cool!"

"Aww, this little Mimikyu's so cuuute!"

Ash smiled slightly as the young ones gathered around his Pokemon who were, for the most part, rather complacent about being around kids - to be expected given how they've had to put up with _him _for so long.

He wasn't exactly the best when it came to everything. It was why he kept up the journey.

It was also why...

"Is she your girlfriend?"

He would never get romantically involved.

"Sorry. Misty's just my friend." Ash said, stressing the _just _ever so slightly. He was very, VERY good at lying when it came to romance in any form. Well, at least with children.

"Alright, everyone, leave him alone." Brock said, gently guiding them away from Ash. "Why don't you say hi to his Charmander? You don't see too many of those around Pewter."

"Yeah, because you're a rock-type gym leader." Forrest said as he gave Mimikyu a brief petting. "No one in their right mind would bring a Charmander here." Ash felt mildly insulted by that comment, but let it slide as Brock got him away from the crowd of what Ash privately called 'Brocklings'.

"You want to be more than just her friend, don't you?" Brock suddenly asked once they were out of earshot of the kids.

"I told you I'm not-"

"You want to, but you keep telling yourself something along the lines of 'She deserves better' or 'Why would she want me to begin with'" Brock interrupted, shaking his head. "Yeah, I've heard that line before, Ash… went through a similar phase when I was getting with Philena. Trust me when I say its _not _healthy to keep those kind of things bottled up inside you… you don't want to plague yourself with 'what if's' and 'what could be's."

"And is it healthy to basically abandon them because you can't keep STILL?" Ash retorted, somewhat angered. "I cannot STOP moving for more than a couple of days. I think that's called 'a terminal case of wanderlust'!" Ash winced, more enraged at himself for his lack of emotional control then at Brock's attempts to 'ship' him and Misty. His argument against could be visually pictured as a submarine firing a torpedo at a cargo ship or something like that.

"Well, I can't argue too much with that." Brock said. "You'll settle down eventually, though."

"Ask my mother about that. She always said I could never sit still and I made it halfway to Viridian when I was a kid." the Pallet trainer said, remembering his 'local' past and as a result his nose having a small blob of blood just barely being held in by his nose hairs.

"Sounds almost like you're one of the legendary beasts!" Brock joked, not noticing Ash plugging his nose to stem the flow.

* * *

Nearby, at the treeline, a chill passed through the air as a padded foot stepped onto the earth, bringing a dampness to the air.

A dull heat and a charge in the air joined it, the three forms giving off a sense of legendary power.

The three Legendary Beasts stood together, watching the young Pokemon trainer that had grabbed their attention.

They had been watching him, on and off, for years. Suicune, mostly, saying he was pure of heart, even for a child. A sign he would retain his core innocence until his dying breath. Then that day happened.

So far, Entei was surprised the boy was out of Pallet Town to begin with. They thought he'd never leave after what happened.

'It has begun.' Entei declared. 'Though he seems more... worldweary than before. As though he had somehow gone further then even we have.'

'Ha! Impossible!' Raikou said, looking at the boy as he spoke to the Pewter gym leader almost as an equal, like a grand sage of old. Before the Shadow… 'Something happened.'

'Indeed, brothers. He has… changed. And not for the better.' Suicune stated as she looked at the man in a child's body. He was always more aware than most children of the world around him. He had even noticed Suicune and her brothers more than once.

Then Ash Ketchum's eyes turned to the treeline. And he saw them.

And his expression turned from confusion and slight awe to hate. Raw, undisguised hate. Suicune wondered what had happened before she noticed the gaze wasn't directed at all of them.

It was solely directed at _Entei_.

The Fire Beast blinked at the sheer animosity directed at him. Ash stared him down for a moment longer, then blinked and shook his head, moving out of sight to join his host.

'He… seemed like he knew you, Entei.' Raikou noted.

'Impossible. I've never been seen by the boy before, let alone done anything to deserve such a look of hate.'

'We shall find out sooner or later.' Suicune declared before thinking about how it was more like Entei's form inspired his loathing. There was only one Entei in the Johto/Kanto area… wasn't there?

Was there a Shadow Entei that stumbled into his life and did something without their knowing?

* * *

Ash tried to shake out the thoughts of Molly's Entei and what it did. Kidnapping his mother, attempting to kill him, Bayleef, Totodile and Quilava, shoving him to his certain death with Pikachu and nearly breaking Charizard's neck: of course he didn't like it. And while he tried not to blame Molly for it, he was only human.

And she DID bring that thing into existence in the first place with help from the Unown, so Ash did have a bit of a grudge. But no one noticed.

The young man sighed, rubbing his eyes and forehead, resting his tired eyes. Brock noticed this.

"Still thinking about Mt. Moon?"

Well, not at that moment, but all those deaths still weighed heavily, so he rolled with it. "Yeah… You know, when I left Pallet, I didn't expect to run into a murderous psychopath and a Rocket army."

"60 years of struggle and pain. But the world's getting better. Professor Oak says by the time I have grandchildren, new trainers won't need guns to save them from Shadow Pokemon." Brock said, sighing. "I only wish it was sooner. A century of paranoia, not knowing who or what you could trust...It's disgusting that we live in such times."

'_It's disgusting that it happened because of me_.' Ash thought, blaming himself for the timeline and the state of the world in general. If it weren't for Celebi sending him back, time wouldn't be a mess. '_Forgetting someone_?' a part of his mind whispered. '_You wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for Cyrus~_'

Ash growled for a moment, before blinking and giving his forehead a small smack. Where did _that _come from? Nevermind.

"Wait, did you say psychopath? Did you-you went through the Viridian Forest?!" Brock said after fully processing what Ash said.

"Yeah. To be honest, I didn't know about the Samurai." the young trainer answered, half-lying. He did expect to see the Samurai at some point, just not...insane and murderous.

"...You are INSANE. Either that, or living under a rock." Brock stated ironically. "That crazy son of a bitch has been there for almost 10 years. We had to make a new route just because of him chopping people up!"

Ash winced. "Well, he got unlucky with the Beedrills this time. They… well." Ash didn't finish. Beedrills were known for short tempers and their massive stingers.

Mostly the stingers.

"Say no more." Brock said, knowing just what most likely happened to the sword-using nut. "You took his swords, though."

"Misty got caught in a rope trap and I used them to cut her free." Ash explained. "After the Beedrills showed up, I just forgot to drop them."

"Well, at least I can show these to the League and reopen the path through the Forest. Mind if I borrow those?" Brock asked.

"Keep them. I don't know how to use them anyway and I'm carrying enough as it is." Ash said, wanting nothing to do with them.

"They belong to you now, Ash. They might make you less of a target for anyone stupid enough to attack you if they know you killed the Samurai." Brock said, Ash ready to object. "I know you said the Beedrills killed him. I believe you. But if you have a reputation for taking down a serial killer who plagued Viridian Forest for years before you even fought your first gym battle, they'll think twice before attacking you."

Sadly, it made sense. Ash didn't like it, but it made sense.

"I'll borrow them, show them to the local scouts and give them back." Brock said as he gathered the two blades. "Besides, you might need them if you want to make any headway in Rota."

Ash furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't remember any swords in Rota. "What, is someone going to challenge me to a sword fight?"

"No, but the fact that you've got his swords will tell them that you've beaten him. Even in Rota, that's bound to impress them."

Ash sighed. He really didn't want to go to Rota, see as he had actually died last time he went there, if it wasn't for that damn Mew.

He had no problems with the species in general. Hell, they were possibly the mother of all Pokemon that weren't the Creation Trio or Arceus, so without Mew, Pikachu and the others wouldn't exist. But that little bitch of a Mew kidnapped Pikachu for no good reason beyond a playmate, which Pikachu didn't want.

That led to all four of them DYING, plus the TRio, before Mew brought them back. All for nothing, though, as Lucario gave his life to restore life to the Tree of Beginning.

That entire debacle was Mew's fault. The only bright spot in it was that he was reunited with Sir Aaron, which wasn't much of one.

With Mt. Moon's tunnel network collapsed, there really was no way to get to the other side and to Cerulean. Still, if that Mew popped up, he was going to shoot first and ask questions later.

"Well," Brock began, standing up. "It's getting late. You two are welcome to stay here for the night. Getting to Cerulean via Rota will take a while."

Misty stiffened at Cerulean. Brock, knowing the story behind that, gave her a clap on the shoulder and a comforting smile.

Ash sighed. "I'll see how my Pokemon are doing. Then..." he trailed off. "I just hope you have separate rooms for me and Misty..."

Brock struggled to keep a straight face.

* * *

Entry 6: Brock Slate

Gym leader of Pewter City and one of the top eight Gym Leaders in Kanto, Brock is a hardy young man and one of the youngest Gym Leaders in recent history. Despite the disappearance of his parents shortly after his 14th birthday, Brock became noteworthy for training under Bruno of the Kanto/Johto Elite Four and winning the AS54 Indigo Conference shortly afterward. After reopening the Pewter Gym, he slowly rose into the top 8.

Ash Ketchum recently won his first badge from Brock, which is no easy feat, as while Brock is only in the top eight, it does mean Ketchum is more then a match for the four-badge teams of the bottom ten. By now, it should be clear that engaging the boy is suicide.

* * *

Entry 7: The Legendary Beasts

The Volcano Beast. The Thunder Bringer. The Master of the North Wind. These fanciful titles for the Legendary Pokemon known as Entei, Raikou and Suicune are not entirely exaggerated. Entei is known to increase the ambient temperature of a given area just being there and Raikou is known to cause thunderstorms wherever it goes. Suicune is often seen purifying corrupted bodies of water, even known to remove the most base corruptions from it, even chlorine from swimming pools.

However, not even the Legendary Beasts are immune to Shadow corruption, as 90 years ago, Cipher's first attempt to take over and break free of the Orre region included the capture of their local Legendary Beasts and the Ho-oh of Orre. while the former were captured by a local mercenary named Wes and purified, the latter disappeared into the ether.

Long term surveillance of Pallet Town has revealed the shocking presence of long-term visitations by the local Legendary Beasts, Suicune in particular having the longest of any visitation. While it is unclear if this has anything to do with rising trainer Ash Ketchum, it is not unlikely that the local Ho-oh has some plan for the child

Team Rocket cannot afford to anger the League AND the legendaries. Avoid engaging them and Ketchum. (PS: This means you, Vicious.)

* * *

**Takeshi Yamato: Another chapter down. And Ash is going to need to make a detour.**

**Ron the True Fan: In all honesty, this entire FIC is a detour. Seriously, when we started this, Ash just evolved Torracat. By now, he should have gotten somewhere closer to **_**Sword and Shield**_**.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yes. Well, that's the thing with setting up backlogs. By the time we're done with this, readers, you should be able to get a chapter a week, barring any major snafus.**

**Ron the True Fan: Depending on RL delays. In the meantime...enjoy an omake.**

* * *

(Omake: Never Leaving Well Enough Alone)

Ash's day had been horrible. Guilt over the Clefairy colony and adopting that Cleffa because her parents were gone wasn't helping.

Maybe it would be better if he just faded away.

"Excuse me?" a man asked as he came to a stop in front of Ash. He wore a very weird outfit, which was a lot even by Ash's low standards of normality. In fact, the outfit was the oddest thing about him. He looked very nondescript. "I'm looking for an Ash Ketchum. ...Such a weird name."

"I'm Ash." he replied. The man sighed. "Thank god. I've been looking for you for weeks." he said. "My name is Daniels. I'm here to fix a problem."

"A...problem." Ash repeated. "Yes. I'm what's called a 'temporal agent'. My job is to preserve history and...well, your timeline isn't supposed to exist." Daniels said, showing some piece of technology that showed a massive tangled mess Ash assumed was the flow of time. "Now, normally, my superiors would just want the timeline in question purged, simply because it's easier that way, but my co-workers discovered you were here."

Ash decided to humor 'Daniels'. "And why?" he asked, not particularly caring.

"Well, I figured I would recruit you as a temporal agent, seeing as this timeline's about to be erased. I can't bring anyone else, but you would make a valued member of the-"

All of a sudden, a giant bolt of electricity slammed into 'Daniels'.

"PIKA!" '_LIKE HELL YOU WILL_!' screamed Pikachu as Daniels was electrocuted.

And that was just the first wave of pain. And let it be known the Authors enjoyed every second of it. (WHACK!)

"Free!" '_You are NOT taking him away from Misty_!' Butterfree cried as he was released form his ball by Pikachu, then he fired off a cloud of spores, coating the man in them before kicking the man in the face.

"Pidg!" '_DIE_!" Pidgeotto screeched as she blew a Gust into Daniels, sending him flying into a building.

Daniels landed on his face...then looked up to see a cute rag-covered being. "Mi. Mi. KYU!" '_NEW FRIEND_!' cried Mimikyu.

* * *

"What in the hell happened to you?" asked David Richardson, one of the TIC's more...competent agents.

He and his team were called 'Daniels' Clean-Up Crew' because while Daniels got jobs done, they were sloppy and left loose ends.

No one liked loose ends.

"I don't remember. But it HURT..." Daniels said as he fell onto the floor, groaning in agony.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: He'll be back to try again. Whether the omake is canon or not is up to you. Me, I just want Daniels to **_**suffer**_**.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, don't really like the guy - Time Travel shenanigans don't really work unless they're done well (**_**Fire Emblem Awakening**_ **being a good example of 'done well'), but even without that, Daniels doesn't really seem… well… to be the sharpest tool in the shed.**

**Ron the True Fan: **_**FEA **_**breaks the time-travel rulebook. **_**Repeatedly**_**. But let's put it this way: all the problems in **_**Trek**_**? Probably his fault. Hell, for all we know, HE caused Cyrus to go nuts with the whole 'reset the universe' thing. Game Freak'll never confirm it due to legal issues, but it makes terrifying sense.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah… yeah it does. Well, nothing else, at least we'll get to see him getting beat up repeatedly.**

**Ron the True Fan: Not EVERY chapter. Once in a moon, though. And Ash's team will not be the only ones getting revenge by proxy...Well, this has gone on long enough.**

**Ja Ne!**


	7. Chapter 6: Revelations

**Ron the True Fan: Fun times ahead for Ash, though spoilers will not be stated. I will say this: he ain't gonna be happy!**

**Takeshi Yamato: That's for sure.**

**Ron the True Fan: Also, due to being stuck indoors and having a massive surplus of chapters, this is being published two weeks early. Enjoy. And whoever said I lost the plot? Buddy, I have tossed all but the anime's _outline_ out the window. Welcome to the wild and avoid the rapid Gibles. (CHOMP!)  
**

* * *

**North of Pewter City, Kanto Region on approach to the Kanto/Rota Border - 1320 hours local time - Day 5 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

Ash Ketchum… disliked the Kingdom of Rota.

Hate was too strong a word for the small nation. He liked Rota's people, the little tournament there was fun, but the death of Lucario and his own… temporary passing… colored his perceptions on the country. His feelings for the whole Tree of Beginning ordeal stopped there for the moment, however, on account of two things: he was alive, and had knowledge of the entire thing, therefore he could prevent all that from happening. He was going to save Lucario, and Latios, but Altomare was still a distance away. If he saw Annie and Oakley he was gonna-

Ash jumped as Misty laid a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, are you okay? You looked pretty angry."

"Bad memories." Ash said truthfully. Altomare was a beautiful city, ruined by Latios' death. Rota was a peaceful kingdom, ruined by his experiences there. Truthfully, he wanted to be as far from the kingdom as possible.

But it was either wait until the tunnel was cleared or climb over the mountains to reach Cerulean. Both, arguably, would take much longer then just detouring to Rota. And while Ash didn't want to feel like he was racing against the clock… really, he was. He wanted to get to Sinnoh before that idiot put the final steps to his universe-ending plan to work. Get the team back together, get to Sinnoh, break Cyrus' back, save the world, in that order.

That and find Misty a more suitable person to get romantically involved with: Brock and his Kanto team might've been pushing, but Ash would not let it happen.

The two-time trainer did not notice his starter shooting him a worried look. The two knew each other enough to have a good idea what they were thinking about and fill in the rest. The electric mouse knew that Ash was beating himself up over Lucario and getting angry over Mew and resolved himself not to get kidnapped by Mew.

But that was later. If the Mew popped up, they'd deal with it. If not, oh well.

"Pika." '_You've really got to work on those anger issues_.' Pikachu said. "I nearly lost you here. I DIED here. I have every RIGHT to be angry." Ash retorted, fire in his voice and anger in his eyes. But Ash willed himself to calm down. Pikachu didn't deserve his anger.

Get through Rota as quickly as possible. That was the goal. He would deal with Lucario when he was damn well ready.

* * *

_**Ilex Forest, Johto Region - 1508 hours local time**_

* * *

The Johto team had, to use a human term, GTFOed away from the battle between the Shadow Pokemon and Clair, only stopping once they had a good two hours of distance between them, having collapsed tiredly.

After scavenging some food Cyndaquil started another small egg fire to try and assist Phanpy. While Phanpy would be weak and slow for a bit, after a few hours, the little ground elephant would be ready to roll.

Literally.

"Toto." '_I don't think this is a good idea._' Totodile said as Cyndaquil piled rocks around the pit. Again, forest fires sucked for everyone.

"Cyndaaaa." '_It's fineee. It's a light ember anyway. Besides, do you want to be carrying around the egg all the time?'_

Totodile grunted and didn't say anything else. It made sense, sadly: a moving Phanpy was faster than an immobile egg. With the last of the fire-prevention measures in place, Cyndaquil opened fire, spraying the egg with burning embers that pooled below the blue egg.

"Cynda!" '_Yes_!' Cyndaquil cried before jumping in the air and turning into a brief fireball, using flame wheel and aerial ace to hover briefly.

After a few minutes, the egg started to move, to all their surprise, indicating that the small elephant pokemon was about to hatch.

"Cynda!" '_You see that! I did it!' _The fire mouse repeated the same action, jumping for joy, until they could hear a faint screaming. From inside the egg.

"Toto!" '_Damn it! I knew it!' _The heat was too much for the newborn! Reacting quickly, Totodile Water Gunned the egg, cooling it off and the embers, but shattering the egg in the process, revealing a slightly burnt, and now dripping wet Phanpy.

'_OW! OW! OOOOOOOOWWWWW!_!' trumpeted the little elephantine Pokemon as his burns were visible to all.

"Quillllllll..." '_Oh, Arceus, I am so sorry..._' said the fire badger, seeing what she had wrought.

"Phan." '_It's...fine. OW._' said the blue elephant. "Py?" '_...I'm a Phanpy again. WHY am I a Phanpy again?_'

"Toto?" '_Uh… Ash?_' Totodile answered tentatively.

"Phan." '_I know Dad's responsible somehow! I was asking WHY._' Phanpy elaborated. Like most of his hatched Pokemon with the exception of Togepi (who kinda counted by calling him 'daddy' in regards to Misty being Togepi's adoptive mother) Phanpy considered Ash his father.

He stopped calling him 'Daddy' after evolving. Didn't change his general thoughts on the matter.

"Totodile." '_So, bring you up to speed, we're heading towards Kanto. We've encountered something called a Shadow Pokemon and picked up a Pineco in the process.'_

Thankfully, Pineco and Heracross were out looking for more food and berries, so they didn't have to awkwardly explain the whole situation to their 'hitchhiker.'

"Phanpy." '_So you hatched me so we could move faster? Well, while I don't appreciate the burns…_' Phanpy groaned as he fanned himself, which made the burns ache from the air flowing over them. "Py." '_It wasn't a bad idea, but you could try using Scald for Scraggy and Noibat next time_.'

"Toto." 'Doesn't work.' Totodile said.

"Phan." 'Figured I'd suggest it…' retorted the elephant before he fell to his knees. "Han." 'Yeah, going to need berries for this.

Cyndaquil, feeling guilty, jumped at the chance. "Cynda!" '_I'll get it!' _And darted off.

Totodile sighed. "Dile." '_She means well.'_

"Phanpy." "_I know she does. I just need some Rawst berries, then we can get going. Screw waiting, I want to see Dad again!"_

"Chik." '_Let me patch you up first. You just hatched with heavy burns: berries or not, you're in no shape to go rolling_.' Chikorita said as she looked him over, right before Pineco and Heracross returned.

"Pin!" '_New guy! ...Wait, he was in the egg._' Pineco said as he hopped over. "Co." 'S_o, let me get you up to speed._'

"Phanp." 'I already know.' the elephant said tersely.

"Pine?" 'You don't sound like a Phanpy. You sound like a Donphan.' Pineco said, confused. And he was right: Phanpy didn't sound like a newly-hatched, happy Phanpy, but an experienced, wisened Donphan.

"Phanpy?" "_What's a Donphan?' _The 'newborn' feigned ignorance, altering his tone slightly.

The bug-type blinked. "Pine." '_Huh. Maybe it's just me.'_

As Chikorita went about checking and doing what she could, Cyndaquil came rolling back, arms full of Rawst, Oran, and other berries.

Giving some Oran and Rawst berries to Phanpy to eat, Chikorita mashed up the rest of the Rawsts and applied the mush to the burns, using large leaves and vines to hold them in place.

"Chi." 'You are not moving for at least another day.' the pear-shaped Pokemon all but ordered.

"Phan-" 'We don't-' "Chik!" 'You. Are. Not. MOVING!' she repeated. Chikorita was basically the family doctor.

No one was stupid enough to fuck with the family doctor.

* * *

_**Kingdom of Rota - 1648 Hours Local Time**_

* * *

Ash stared into the distance, then at the massive log in front of him. Even at this distance, the Tree of Beginning was monolithic, dominating the horizon. And, to be expected of a tree _that _big, even kilometers away, it's roots were massive. Some scientists even speculated some roots to extend almost to the mantle.

He couldn't help but kick it, make it and the local Mew feel how angry he was at this place, at them. Perhaps a stupid idea, as his team was nowhere near ready to deal with the Regi Trio should they be sent after them, but really, Ash wasn't thinking. He was reacting.

Misty was feeding her water-types, so she didn't notice him scowling and angry at the Tree while Pikachu was telling Charmander about the..incident.

"Charrrrrrrrrr..." '_More legendaries to defeat! I'll be a Charizard again in no time! Ash, make that Mew angry and bring them here!_' Charmander demanded.

Before Ash, Pikachu or even Mimikyu could tell him how STUPID of an idea that was, Pidgeotto dove back down, roosting on the branch. "Geotto!" '_Finally! Took long enough to convince them!_' she cawed.

"Noc…" '_So you're back.' _Noctowl muttered. "NoctOWLL!" '_Bring your traitor flock with yOUUU!"_

Noctowl screeched as Pikachu gave the owl a light shock to shut him up and a scathing glare.

Pidgeotto gave a superior look, still feeling proud. "Otto." 'It took a little convincing, but I managed to make it work."

* * *

_**8 hours prior - near Indigo Plateau**_

* * *

At least the finally stopped to roost, as the small-for-her-kind raptor finally caught up to her old flock, some of whom were sleeping and preparing for another flight. One of the lead Pidgeotto woke up as she landed on a branch.

"Pid?" '...Didn't you leave?' the slightly older bird asked, confused. "Ot?" 'You screamed something about a trainer.'

"Pidge." 'Yeah, long story, you wouldn't believe it.' Ash's raptor said. "Pidgeot." '_But that's not important. I have something that you might like_!' "Otto." '_You see, I met this trainer, really good and nice trainer, who has a friend that runs a ranch and takes care of his pokemon that are not traveling with him. It's a big place with fields and trees and friendly pokemon.'_

The older one blinked. "Pidgeo?" '_So?' _

"Pidgeotto!" '_The rancher is offering the flock safety and a place to stay and no one who doesn't want to be caught has to!'_

The older bird thought about it. They were constantly harassed by Fearow flocks, especially that insane one.

Well, it was better than the alternative. "Geot?" 'Where is it?' the flock's nominal leader asked.

Ash's bird flapped her wings in happiness. "Pidge!" '_It's just a few hour's flight away. I can take you there!"_

* * *

_**Two Hours later**_

* * *

Oak smiled as he watched the flock of birds fly into the ranch, finding trees to roost and berries to eat.

A distinctly smaller one flew down to him, landing with what he assumed to be a smug look.

It confused him until he figured out it was Ash's Pidgeotto. "...try not eat me out of house and home, please: I'm not made of food." he asked when he was confronted by the flock, which was… massive.

The birds seemed to agree to the unspoken 'you can stay here as long as you let me watch you do Pidgey things'.

Well, looks like he'd be releasing a research paper on Pidgey in the near future.

* * *

_**Present Time, Kingdom of Rota**_

* * *

Pidgeotto filled the group in as they proceeded around the roots and into the small city of Rota. Once inside the medieval town, they proceeded to restock and, in Misty's case, take in the sights. Which was when Ash caught wind of something that peaked his interest.

Ash had a few weaknesses. One of his biggest ones was Pokemon tournaments. It was why he occasionally joined contests, sports competitions and other such events. It was how he got to Rota in the first place last time, thanks to their yearly tournament.

Now this tourney was not that big one, but was meant more for the locals and anyone happening to pass through and wanted to join. And Ash was going to join. Plus, it'd be good practice.

With Misty cheering him on from the sidelines, Ash tore through the ranks, usually winning despite type-disadvantages. Charmander in particular was a menace, desperate to evolve back to a  
Charizard and prove himself to Ash again.

Most of the battles were not worth noting, as many of them were against trainers who, like Ash so long ago, were just starting out, only having one Pokemon to their name and were not experienced like he was. Then again, he might look like some prodigy trainer that came out of nowhere to kick some serious ass.

That was about to change as someone Ash sort of knew entered the picture.

"Well, this is… interesting. Some kinda wonder trainer." noted his opponent as she stood across from Ash. He knew she was an experienced coordinator, but…

What the hell was Solidad doing in Rota?

"I just work well with my partners." Ash replied, pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind and raising his guard. If he remembered correctly, Solidad had used a Slowbro, a Lapras, a Pidgeot and a Butterfree. But that was when he was in Hoenn, before, well, now. Would he see a one of the pre-evolutions, or her Lapras, who had a pretty effective Sheer Cold?

"You're up Pidgeotto!" Ash declared, his first bird unfurling her wings with a cry.

"Rather small for a Pidgeotto." Solidad noted before withdrawing a Pokeball. "But that just means it's young. Go, Slowpoke!" she tossed out a ball, releasing the pink creature in question, which looked less… dopey.

If Ash ever caught a Slowpoke, he'd ask Solidad how she got hers from dumb and slow to… actually viable.

Don't get him wrong, he'll use any Pokemon, but Slowpoke wasn't exactly on his top list. He'd take Snorlax over Slowpoke.

The referee started counting down. "Three… Two… One… Begin!"

"Open up with Gust!"

"Otto!" Flapping her wings hard, the raptor sent a powerful burst of wind towards the water-type.

"Counter with Water Gun and Psychic!"

Ash blinked, and watched as Slowpoke manipulated the water it shot into a thin wall around it, shielding it from the worst of the attack.

_Looks like she's still training to be a Coordinator. _Ash noted as the now-misted water sparkled in the sunlight, much to the appreciation of the crowd.

Ash could get why coordinating was a thing: it made you inventive. Hell, he developed the Countershield from Dawn's use of Whirlpool. Sadly for Solidad, making it pretty wasn't going to be enough.

She was going to have to back it up with power. Ash lacked it himself at the moment, but Solidad was too focused on winning over the crowd.

Ash put his mind to work, running through Pidgeotto's moveset. "Steel Wing and Aerial Ace!" he called out, the bird having learned it during their trek to Rota.

"Aerial what?!" Solidad said before Pidgeotto disappeared, followed by a whack to Slowpoke's side with a silver tint. THAT was going to hurt in the morning.

"Impressive move! Bring that Pidgeotto down with Psychic and hit it with Headbutt!"

A glow surrounded the Flying-type, stopping her in her tracks and slamming her into the ground. The Slowpoke started charging, getting to an impressive speed for what it was, preparing to ram the grounded bird.

"Redirect with Steel Wing!" Ash shouted. "Otto!" Again, Pidgeotto's wings took on a silver tint as she slapped the Slowpoke in the side with her reinforced feathers, forcing the Water/Psychic to the side. "Follow up with Aerial Ace!"

Slowpoke felt that slap, barely managing to get back on its feet. Pidgeotto gave the smaller pokemon no respite, hitting it one last time, knocking it out.

"Slowpoke is unable to battle!" The ref declared. "The winner of the tournament is Ash Ketchum!"

Solidad just looked confused, as if trying to find out why she lost. To Ash, it was perfectly clear why: she wasn't thinking like a trainer, she was thinking like a coordinator.

While technically coordinators were just trainers who decided to make Pokemon attacks look pretty and Ash would never bad mouth most of them (Harley being a complete dick and Drew wasn't much better, but they were the exceptions to the rule) a great deal of them tended to focus more on pretty moves instead of making themselves more effective in battle. Solidad fell into that trap here.

Really, though, he blamed it on them being in Rota, where there were no insane Pokemon trying to kill them, the Mew and Regis notwithstanding. She got relaxed and in a contest mindset instead of a conventional trainer's mindset. Granted, Ash hadn't done a single contest in almost four years, but he could pick it up quickly enough if he had to.

Still, by some grace, he won. So what was the prize? Honor and glory? …That sounded like something involving imminent doom.

"The Duchess will present to you the reward, young man." said the referee, who then looked at the still-confused Solidad and shook his head, clearly disappointed in her showing.

"Pika?" '_So, when do you think she'll get over it?_' Pikachu asked. Ash thought about an answer, but didn't get to finish his train of thought when something knocked Pikachu off his shoulder.

"Pika?!" '_Ok, who the hell-_' Pikachu started, mad as hell before noticing what was on Ash. Or rather, sitting on his head.

A blue and black anthropomorphic dog was sitting on Ash's head like he belonged there. The pre-evolved form of Rota's national Pokemon, other than Pidgeot: the Emanation Pokemon, Riolu.

…Why was there a Riolu sitting on Ash's head? Why did it seek out Ash's head like some sort of Ash-seeking missile?

And why did the bipedal jackal look so damn smug?

A Lucario approached - not the one from their memories, but another one. "_Get off of the young trainer's head, young one,_" it said. "_It isn't proper to attach to visiting trainers like-_"

The Lucario was interrupted as the Riolu leapt from Ash's head, gave the Lucario a swift kick in the head, then landed right back on Ash's head, as if the whole thing had been choreographed.

Well, that explained the smugness.

The Lucario stood, shaking his head. '_Get off his head_-' WHACK! Down went the Aura Pokemon again as the young jackal jump-kicked him and landed back on Ash's head. If Ash wasn't so confused, he'd find this kinda funny.

'_This is not funny._' the older Pokemon said, clearly unamused. '_Get off of-_' The Riolu jumped up and fired off a ball of blue energy from his paws, sending the fighting/steel-type flying.

Aura Sphere. That wasn't something a Riolu knew until they evolved. The only Riolu that could do that Ash knew of was… the one he encountered in Sinnoh.

He couldn't help but feel his rage boil. Hunter J made him mad. Before, it was just his personal code of conduct, where Pokemon weren't to be treated as tools but friends. Now, he was wanting to kill her for the countless lives she had destroyed and the Pokemon she had broken-

*poke*

The Riolu was looking him in the eye, poking his nose.

"Uh… Hi?"

"Riolu!" '_Heyo!"_

'_Unnatural prodiges…" _Ash heard the Lucario mutter, wearily picking himself up off the floor.

Ash sighed, reaching up and picking the little jackal off his head to look at his eyesmiling face. "Hey, I'm not your trainer. Go with Lucario."

Riolu didn't listen, wiggling out of his grip and climbing up his arms to plop himself down on Ash's head again.

Lucario examined the situation, then looked at Ash, raising his paw as it began glowing. Ash could feel it over him, piercing his being before wincing. '_You have been touched by evil, young one. But…_' he trailed off. '_It hasn't corrupted you. It CAN'T corrupt you._'

"Huh?" Misty asked as she was confused by the whole thing.

'_You hold much anger, much guilt, but… you desire to help others. I haven't seen that since… well, before the Shadow War. You are too much for those you love that you won't let yourself hurt them…"_

Lucario looked to the smiling Riolu. '_This young one senses that, your love, your strong sense of right. He knows you cannot be corrupted by the dark. I don't believe he will leave you."_

Just great. Ash had enough problems without a Riolu taking over his noggin. And having Hunter J (the bitch) on him wasn't something he wanted. But even after one more attempt, he would not leave Ash's head.

Ash sighed. "Alright." he said.

"Riolu!" '_Yay!' _He shouted, tossing his arms up in celebration. In an instant, the Aura pokemon scrambled down to Ash's backpack, grabbed a ball, and balled himself.

It was now when Duchess Iline arrived. Ash noticed, with a start, that she was holding Sir Aaron's staff.

"Hello there young man." The blond-haired lady greeted warmly.

Ash did not want the debacle that was the incident with the Tree of Beginning happening. If at all possible, he had to avoid going near that thing. But his experience with royalty told him there was some decorum to follow. "Your Majesty." he said with a bow of his head.

"Such a title does not belong to me, young man. My family are merely the stewards of Rota when the king is absent." Iline replied, not at all insulted. Probably a common mistake. "Of course, Rota has not had a king for the past 70 years. Not since the death of King Jaemon, sadly..."

Huh. So Iline wasn't the queen in this timeline. A little different, but nothing to dwell upon. Then again, she was only a 'lady' back in the other timeline if he remembered right...

Another nosebleed ensued, which only Pikachu noticed. "If you're not the queen, who is?" Misty asked, following just behind Ash.

"The line of kings includes Rota's greatest hero, my dear." the noble replied. Ash didn't like this at all.

"Huh?" asked the Waterflower girl.

"The throne belongs to the line of Sir Aaron, as it has has since King Rota founded the realm." Iline explained as she led them into the castle. "But I thought kings didn't go everywhere without, you know, people." Misty asked, Ash holding his mouth shut and trying to keep himself from falling over from the memories.

That staff… he wouldn't touch that staff if it meant Lucario would stay alive. He would not allow Lucario to sacrifice himself, not this time. _If _that Mew popped up. And for all he knew, Lucario wouldn't pop out when he touched it.

Iline continued, not noticing Ash's distress. "King Aaron had the mindset of leading by example. After all, if the king does not lead, how can he expect his subjects to follow?"

By this time, Ash had the largest headache he'd ever known. He needed to rest, to sleep...to...something. He couldn't think too much, it was so bad. And thus, he lost his footing, falling down.

While he landed on his knees, his hand touched the staff. The effect, he probably saw coming, as the crystal glowed.

"Ash!" Misty shouted alongside Pikachu, both rushing to his side. "Pikachu!" '_Damn it, not now!'_

Iline too knelt down, a look of concern and… shock on her face. "You… you activated the staff."

Ash groaned, the headache making it hard for him to realize just what the Duchess said. His head felt like it wanted to explode. "Pika-pi!" '_Damn it, Ash, don't black out on me!_' the mouse cried as he nudged Ash's head.

A green field surrounded Ash's head as the Lucario from before used Heal Pulse on him. 'Rest, young one.' he said before Iline offered Ash a hand up, his headache abated for now. Ash took it, Iline helping him to his feet before backing away...and kneeling.

"You… Ash Ketchum, you are… a descendant of King Aaron."

Ash blinked, his muddled mind noticing that there was no second Lucario in the room. Lucario hadn't left the staff. "I'm sorry, what?"

"This is Aaron's staff. It has been passed down through the generations. The staff only glows when one of royal blood holds it for the first time. Ketchum, you have that royal blood."

Ash blinked. Then blinked again. And again. "I'm sorry, what?"

"The Prince disappeared during the war in Johto and we presumed with his father, the line was lost." Iline explained before standing. "But apparently, he lived… and sired a child. And you are his grandson."

Ash tried to comprehend this. Aaron was royalty. Wandering royalty, at that. He did NOT like where this was going.

"What was lost has been found. A stranger came to Rota a mere man…" Iline said before bowing her head. "And will leave us a king."

Ash didn't know what to think. So he went with what he knew. "But… I'm not a king."

Iline smiled warmly at Ash. "That's fine. Most kings live among the common folk, only returning when their country needs them."

The trainer sighed. "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

He heard the Lucario chuckle. '_No, you are not.'_

* * *

**Pallet Town - Oak Laboratory - 1857 Hours local time**

* * *

"I didn't think Ash would go to Rota." the old professor said as breaking news rang out on the radio from Rota.

"_Nearly a century after we lost our royal line, the heir to Rota's throne has returned home_." the announcer said from the tinny radio sitting in the lab. "_In a twist of fate, the winner of a tournament being held in honor of the end of the Cipher War turned out to be an heir to Rota's throne_."

"Hey, Professor Oak!" Belladonna greeted, walking into the room. The elder Ketchum child occasionally helped out around the lab and ranch, and today was one of those days. "What are you doing?"

Oak chuckled. "Your brother's going up in the world already."

Belladonna blinked, listening to the radio herself.

"_Recapping for all listeners just tuning in: during a tournament to celebrate the end of the Cipher War-_" "Nothing to celebrate: billions dead, nations destroyed and a Shadow Pokemon plague all over the planet." Belladonna quipped before the radio just continued. "_After his victory, Ash Ketchum, after an unexplained collapse, touched the staff of Sir Aaron, known mainly for his actions during the Warring States Period in safeguarding Rota, which glowed. While the science behind this is unexplained, the facts are facts: only a member of Aaron's family line can cause that to happen. Meaning, citizens of Kanto and Rota, the heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Rota has returned_."

Belladonna blinked again. "Huh. So we're royalty. Oh man, Ash is going to hate that. I wonder how mom's going to react?"

"Probably shouldn't mention it to the littler ones." Oak commented.

"Oh, Red will hang that over everyone. 'I'm royalty, bow to me!' Or Yellow would get all the boys to carry her around and shower her in flowers."

"Oh, I doubt that very much." a voice said making them both jump as Delia herself entered the lab. "Where did that come from?"

"Uh, hi, mom." Belladonna said before turning up the radio, a Pidgey belonging to that flock Ash's Pidgeotto brought in landed on the broadcasting device. "_We will continue bringing you all the latest information on the new Crown Prince of Rota, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, as we receive it from the palace._" the announcer stated. "_Now, back to our regularly scheduled programing._"

Oak glanced at Delia. "Well, I knew we had _some _royal blood up the line, but not something _this _big." She sighed, rubbing her head to ward off an imminent headache. "Ugh, it's not like I had _enough _to worry about already. Media's probably going to harass all of us…"

Belladonna looked at her mother. "Huh?"

"Everyone's got it somewhere." Delia said.

* * *

**Viridian City Gym - same time**

* * *

Giovanni was now MORE worried than before. There was a reason for this other than Rota's righteous fury.

For reference, Rota was untouched by the Cipher War and retained ALL its' strength instead of being completely screwed over like everywhere else.

No, it was still Delia Ketchum that was the biggest problem. The reason?

Delia was his younger sister. Her maiden name was Sakai and she was five years younger than he was. She was also a much better trainer then he was.

Giovanni was arguably the best gym leader in Kanto, with little room for doubt.

Delia was former Elite Four and outside Champion Lance Wataru, she was the most dangerous member of the Kanto Elite Four to the point where no Conference winner got past her when she was active and Oak segregated her Pokemon from the rest of the ranch he owned for the safety of all involved.

Like him (and Ash, though the young man did not know it) Delia was not a type-specialist. She could take any Pokemon and bring out the hidden potential within it, just as Giovanni did. The only difference between the two siblings was the fact that Giovanni did not truly build a bond with his Pokemon. Delia did, which only made them more dangerous in battle.

'My best friend is the Pokemon by my side', indeed.

Giovanni did not want to piss her off by harming her kids. Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned, and Delia was a terrifying mother when she wanted to be. That woman could single-handedly take down the entirety of Team Rocket if she wanted to. While Giovanni could fight her for a time, he would lose.

Her skills did not erode like one would think. Her Pokemon continued to train and she… well.

Her children learned from her. A good way to keep her sword sharp.

He needed to make sure Team Rocket did not screw this up. If anyone attacked Ash, his sister would destroy him. Not something he needed.

Especially since two of his Admins knew Delia. He could split the Team. Not a good thing for him. He needed to make… emergency measures.

* * *

"But I'm not a native of Rota, I'm from Kanto!" Ash protested, yet again trying to find a way out. "You can't confirm my ancestry!"

'_Aura is passed by blood.' _A guardian Lucario responded. '_And the staff only resonates with King Aaron's descendants.'_

"Ash, it's fine." Misty assured him. "Iline told you that you don't have to stay."

"I am not a king! I am a Pokemon trainer! I know next to nothing about running a country in any form!" Ash retorted, wanting to LEAVE. The longer he stayed, the more he wanted to...kill something.

"That was the purpose of the wandering. A king cannot just sit on a throne, passing laws with abandon." Iline said. "They must know what the people need. Thus, they travel among them, learning what must be done. Sometimes they even do a good deed on the spot."

While all good, it was not Ash's place to be in Rota. At all. "I just want to be normal…"

"Pika-chu." '_Ash, you never had a chance.'_

And then, with a small flash of light, the source of all of Ash's problems with Rota appeared in front of him.

That _damn _Mew.

'_Urge to kill… _rising…' Ash thought, radiating all his LOATHING for this Mew towards it.

This Mew kidnapped Pikachu. This Mew made him die. This Mew made Lucario die. That stupid adventuring lady might've started it, but instead of just teleporting away alone, Mew took Pikachu and Team Rocket's Meowth.

Kidd Summers died with them and never did anything stupid like that ever again as far as he knew. Mew, on the other hand, got off virtually scot free.

"Mew?" '_Oh my. What have I done to earn such hate_?' the pink cat meowed curiously. "Mew?" 'This is the first time we have ever met.'

'_Maybe not for you.' _As thought scornfully, glaring constantly at the pink cat, trying, furtively, to tamp down on his anger. Yes he shouldn't be angry at _this _Mew. Hell, it wasn't really in his nature to be angry. But he couldn't suppress his _loathing _for the Tree of Beginning's 'heart'.

And his loathing only intensified as the floating cat perched on his head. Right now, he would have really prefered Riolu.

"Mew!" '_My, you do NOT like me at all. Perhaps.._.' Mew mused before attempting to read Ash's mind.

This was a mistake. '_STAY THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD_!' Ash mentally yelled, shocking both Mew and himself. Mew for the raw use of will to repulse her and Ash for cursing at all.

While Ash and Mew were… engaged, Iline, Misty and all around watched as Mew interacted with Ash. "The Mew of the Tree… I believe she wanted to see if it was true that an heir returned." the steward of Rota muttered.

Ash overheard. 'Let them have their lie, Ketchum: you know the truth.' that dark voice in the back of his head stated. Ash crushed it with the force of the ocean depths.

The Mew, though, got the idea.

"Mew…" '_I see… I am sorry, savior. I never meant to cause such pain… "_

'_Just…' _Ash sighed audibly. '_Don't cause any problems. I'd rather not die again.'_

"Mew." '_Don't worry. If I want to play, I'll send your partner back as soon as possible.'_

"Pikachu." '_I would prefer NOT getting kidnapped at all. Keep away from that thrill seeking bitch._' Pikachu all but demanded. "Pi-chu." '_And leave a goddamn sign telling people NOT to touch anything or they WILL die_!' While they blamed Mew for the entire debacle, Summers DID try to…

Was she trying to capture Mew? At that point, Ash didn't care: both of them deserved a smack upside the head. And in the human's case, a boot up their ass.

He might have been a nice guy, but he had _limits_. _Dying _went above and beyond those. The only thing keeping him from doing so in the other timeline was to be a good example to Max. Otherwise, much smacking would have been had.

"Well, this is a blessing. At least the royal family still exists." Iline said, smiling, happy that her family's long watch over Rota was over.

Not if Ash had any say in it. "I'm not even the oldest child: I have an older sister!" he said, attempting to force Belladonna into the place instead of him.

"While I doubt you're lying, the rules of succession dictate the oldest male child take the throne." the duchess explained. "King Jaemon attempted to have that changed to 'eldest child', but the house of Parliament was split on the bill and his death resolved that."

Wasn't Rota a kingdom? Ash's confusion showed on his face. "We adopted a semi-constitutional system a long time ago. The King's word is still law to a point, but he's effectively first among equals." Iline explained. "But there was something they DID agree on after the family nearly went extinct 500 years ago."

"Why is King-" Misty started before Iline stopped her. "Sir Aaron. It's a family trait to be humble. It's not well-known outside Rota. They all assume my family's the royal line. But ultimately, we are just caretakers."

Misty wanted to know more, if only to have something to talk about with Ash and make him feel better. "Why IS his family so important?" she asked.

"They have a relationship with the Tree of Beginning. It's… complicated, hence the only thing the parliament agreed on." the regent answered, Ash having a VERY bad feeling. 'Please no.' he thought in terror. 'Please yes!' thought Pikachu in glee.

"And that is...?" Misty asked, hints of her old tomboy attitude coming out at last.

"In Rota, the royal family is required by law to practice polygamy." Iline's maid finally said, fed up with dancing around the issue.

And that was the straw that broke Ash's back, as it were, as he screamed in frustration and a great deal of repressed anger.

* * *

_**Just outside the Rotan Border - same time**_

* * *

"Anyone else hear that?" Meowth asked as they heard something in the distance.

"It's in Rota. Team Rocket's not allowed there since… the _incident_." James said, shuddering at the unsaid incident.

No one wanted to talk about the incident.

* * *

_**Kalos Region - Cyllage City**_

* * *

While Cyllage was more famous for its' gym, aquarium and beaches, slightly more distant was the port of Brest, the region's busiest port and until airplanes got back into use, the only link to the other regions.

It was also currently the sight of two Rhyhorns, one dragging along a cart, running through the small town. "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!" screamed Grace Gabena, Baroness of Vanille and five-time Rhyhorn Riding champion, as she rushed towards the port town.

"Goo!?" '_I keep screaming, but no one answers me and Serena's just making happy squeals! WHAT IS GOING ON?!_' Goomy demanded once more, having asked the question a dozen times in the three hours they had been travelling since Grace and Serena began rushing to pack and leave.

Serena's Pokemon weren't giving him any answers, either, but they were in Pokeballs and Grace's Fletchling was half a mile behind, so she wasn't giving him any answers, either.

A woman riding a Zebstrika was directly in front of them, not hearing the thudding of multiton Rhyhorns. "MOVE IT, BITCH!" the baroness screamed before the rider in question screamed and the electric horse bolted off in a panic into a building.

Not missing a beat, the hoard of Rhyhorn kept on charging towards the port, finally cresting a hill and letting Ash's pokemon their first glimpse of Brest, and all the ships in the port.

The port was massive, filled with boats ranging from small, personally owned cruisers, to big commercial fishing boats.

"Fletch…" '_Damned crazy woman…_' Grace's robin said, landing on Goomy's head, panting. "Fletchling!" '_At least return me to my ball_!'

"Haw." '_Well, you can tell us what the hell is going on, then. Between her running around in a panic and Serena squealing in joy, we have no idea what the hell's going on._' Hawlucha said, holding Noibat's egg. "Lucha." '_Mind explaining_?'

"Fletch." '_Well…' _The bird type huffed. '_I guess you guys didn't hear the broadcast. Rota found a descendant of their king, big thing, apparently they haven't had one since the Cipher War. And, as it turns out, the Crown Prince is Ash Ketchum, Serena's crush and that guy you all are so adamant to meet."_

"Goomy?" '_Ash? A prince?"_

"Flet." '_Apparently_.' the bird said before resting on Goomy's soft body. "Fleeeeeeeeeeeeeetch..." '_Wake me up when we're on the boat._' with that, Grace's Fletchling took a nap.

"Goo." '_I am not a goddamn pillow_.' the dragon said indignantly.

"Foak-ieeee." "_Whoa. Guys, look at that!_" The starter pokemon pointed towards the docks.

"Hawlucha." "That… _is a big ship._"

Dwarfing nearly every single ship docked at the port town, was a truly massive cruise ship. The ship ranged at over two hundred meters in length, longer than even some military ships. It even towered over the city around it, with four massive funnels sticking out midships. Emblazoned on the side in bright bronze lettering was the name _Germanic_.

A queen of the seas. "Fletch…" 'Big boat.' Ash's robin said before Serena became making… very disconcerting sounds.

Seriously, this was messed up: she sounded like that old letch, Alder, that the Unovan team talked about. That guy made passes on anything that moved, according to them.

"Never got why this thing still has funnels if it has a nuclear reactor…" Grace muttered. "Well, nothing to dwell upon now. To the ticket booth!" She shouted, kicking her Rhyhorn into gear

* * *

After 'acquiring' their tickets and making sure that their luggage would get to their deluxe cabin, Serena, Grace, and the Ash 'mons boarded the magnificent _Germanic_.

"Goo." '_This ship is old, but… still sailing? How?_' Goomy asked before a knock was heard at the door.

Grace got the door, and on the other side was a man with dark brown hair and blue eyes, with a dark brown moustache. He was fairly tall, around the upper end of height for most humans, and was dressed in a black business suit. "Ladies," the man said with a bow. "I hope you're enjoying your stay so far."

"Who are you?" Serena asked, pausing from releasing her Eevee. The Kalos crew looked at him cautiously.

The last person in a suit they ran into was Lysandre, who was two steps from destroying Lumiose City and if they were right, Kalos itself.

They knew the legends of their home region, of AZ and the Ultimate Weapon. And Lysandre REALLY wanted to kill everything. So, they trusted him about as far as they could throw him.

"Kyril Pernon, my dear," he said, standing straight once again. "I'm the owner of this ship, and I make the effort to personally welcome every guest aboard it when I am, even if I can't do so at the ramp."

"Froak." '_He reminds me of that trainer that tried seducing Serena._' Froakie said. If there was anything they did not tolerate (other than Team Flare, Alain and Lysandre, who they weren't going to be nice to this time) it was someone trying a fullout charm offensive to woo Ash's mate.

Suitman was slowly and unknowingly signing his death warrant.

A long-suffering sigh drew their attention to the redheaded woman behind him. She was dressed similarly to him, only she had a fairly short skirt instead of the pants he wore, and her top was open enough to show her cleavage. "Kyril, do you really have to turn on the charm with every pretty woman you meet?" she asked.

"Hey, I'm not that bad," he tried saying.

"You are, sir. You were even worse a couple of years ago."

"Hey, it's not like I'd actually try to bed them!" he snapped. "For the first part, I can spot the ring on the Baroness here, and her daughter's much too young for me to consider for that. Secondly, I know that if I tried you'd tear my head off."

At this point, some of the Pokemon were reminded, not of the trainer that tried seducing Serena, but of some of the tales Pikachu had told them of one of Ash's first traveling companions. Brock Slate. The one who hit on everything with a skirt, only to be pulled away by first Misty, then Max, and finally his Croagunk.

"Good. She's engaged. And if he doesn't deal with you, Serena will." Grace said. "And ship owner or not, it'll happen."

"Yeah, the horde over there looks like they want to kill me…" the man in the suit said, noticing the four Pokemon giving him death glares and warning him to stay the hell away from Serena.

Unknown to them, Serena was thinking much the same thing.

'_Keep him away. Ash is our prince, not him_,' she thought, as if she was having a conversation with herself. Which… she was. Her mind was more than a little damaged, as you might have noticed.

'_He's not being harmful… and he's got his own girlfriend. He won't take us from Ash._' thought another 'fragment' of her mind. Fortunately, they all agreed on something, that being Ash was theirs, so she wasn't foaming at the mouth insane. Just the 'take a pill' crazy.

Grace groaned in sudden realization. "Ugh. We were so rushed getting here, that it didn't occur to me that it's going to take four months to get to Kanto."

The Cipher War devastated the world, the sheer death and chaos brought on by Cipher's uncontrollable Shadows and terrorists destroying economy and trade routes. All trans-continental canals were destroyed by those pokemon, and rebuilding them would take years if not decades, leading to month long trips between regions.

While the damage was somewhat repairable, the mere fact those Shadow Pokemon existed and attacked anything and everything at random kept it from happening. Combine that with seven decades of disrepair and decay and the end result, predictably, was the loss of easy trade.

At least Cipher paid for their arrogance: the organization was nearly killed to a man by their 'pawns' and presumably didn't last long back in Orre. The cities wanted them gone for failing on their promises and the deserts of Orre were unforgiving and irradiated.

But going after them was not one of the former URN's concerns 60 years ago, as the regions had fractured into warlordism and the other regions were in no shape for a witch hunt. Cipher was dead and that was that.

"The ship doesn't leave for another day. Get what you need and charge it to my tab." Pernon said with a bit of a flirt… before the woman grabbed his ear.

"Just rent a large flying type and one of our storage caps." the woman said, dragging the CEO out of the suite before slamming the door.

"…Was he trying-" Grace started to ask before her Fletchling pecked her. "Oh, right, rent and get clothes and stuff." Grace was clearly not the normal noble. That or she wasn't being forced to act like one at the moment.

The Kalos crew did not know, nor did they care. The Germanic would be their way to get to Ash. And he needed them. They might not know how badly, but they knew he needed their help. "Froak…" 'Hang on, my liege. We're coming.' Froakie vowed.

* * *

Entry 7: The Pernon Group

While Silph Co dominates all Pokeball and Pokemon-related products and technological development, almost all other concerns are under the control of the Pernon Group, a massive conglomerate born out of the necessity of the Cipher War's aftermath, where all business and industrial concerns in the former URN were in shambles. Slowly but surely, Soran Pernon gathered together various business concerns, forging a vast multi-billion dollar technological empire, which passed over to his son, Kyril, upon Soran's death.

Kyril still maintains the global and multipurpose production lines the Pernon Group is known for, but has shifted the main focus of the group towards aerospace development, wanting to re-establish air travel among the regions.

A major comparison has been made between the Pernon Group and the fictional Weyland-Yutani Corporation.

* * *

Entry 8: The Pernon Line's Big Five

While shipbuilding, forestry and construction are major sources of income for the Pernon Group, the Pernon Line, with a near-monopoly on transoceanic travel, is arguably their largest source, with passengers, cargo and Pokemon travelling on their ships.

The largest and most prestigious of the Line's ships are former vessels of the White and Gold Lines, those being the Royal Kalosian Mail Steamers _Olympic_, _Germanic_, _Mauritania_, _Aquitania _and _Queen Victoria_, whose hulls were originally stored in the Unovan Relict Desert, as the desert sands kept them preserved when they were buried. While over 150 years old when they were brought back into service, minor work such as welding seams, adding thicker hull plating in key areas and replacing the oil (and in the case of _Olympic _and _Germanic_, coal) boilers with a nuclear power plant in AS23 made the ships seaworthy once more due to the fact that all five vessels were buried to their boat decks in sand and internally filled as well.

The _Olympic's _design was copied by the much smaller SS _Cussler_, but was not a member of the Big Five. The _Olympic _and _Germanic _are the only survivors of a three-ship class of liner, the third of which sank off the Unovan coast in BS179 (Before Shadow Pokemon) after colliding with an unknown object, as there were no survivors. The _Mauritania's _sister was sunk during the last Ranger-Trainer War in BS182, while the _Queen Victoria_, youngest of the Big Five, was retired due to the prevalence of air travel, both by plane and flying-type, in BS103. Officially, all are Kalosian-registered, but the _Olympic _and _Aquitania _have not visited a Kalosian port in almost 40 years, the Olympic primarily running a route between Kanto and Unova while the Aquitania travels between Alola, Kanto and Sinnoh.

All five ships are armed with anti-piracy weapons, which explains why, even in this dark age, they're still floating. Team Rocket attempted a strike on the _Aquitania _20 years ago, but Madame Boss was killed in the attempt. To this date, no Rocket has been insane enough to attempt to sink any of the Big Five since, as it would bring Pernon's financial wrath on the Team.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Before you ask, all of these ships actually exist in real life and were 'localized', as it were. The **_**Olympic **_**is actually the more famous **_**Titanic's **_**elder sister, the **_**Germanic **_**is a renamed HMHS **_**Britannic **_**(**_**Titanic's**_ **youngest sister) the Mauretania was the **_**Lusitania's **_**sister and **_**Aquitania **_**is the same ship as RMS **_**Aquitania**_**. The **_**Queen Victoria**_ **is actually the 'localized' RMS **_**Queen Mary**_**. Air travel's not a thing here anymore.**

**Takeshi Yamato: At least not at the moment. Kyril's definitely working on changing that.**

**Speaking of Kyril, he's based on a certain billionaire playboy philanthropist. Expect this to be relevant in chapters to come.**

**Ron the True Fan: Somewhat. Ash is the main character here. But at least he gets what Brock doesn't here. **

**Takeshi Yamato: Yep.**


	8. Chapter 7: Sun and Run

**Ron the True Fan: To be clear: Ash might LEGALLY have the ability to marry multiple women, but he does not WANT to marry anyone. There is a difference between being **_**allowed **_**and **_**doing**_**. Ash refuses to marry, does not want to be king and only has two real goals: stopping Cyrus and continuing his journey.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, good luck with that, Ashy-boy. I will quote everyone's favorite cyber-zombies here - Resistance is Futile.**

**Ron the True Fan: SO tempted to do things with that statement now… But I won't. Bonus at the bottom of this chapter. Read on to learn more!**

* * *

**Western Kingdom of Rota/Kanto Border - 720 hours local time - Day 8 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

"Why are you so glum, Ash?" Misty asked as they circled past one of the roots of the Tree of Beginning. "Most people would be happy about this! I know I would…"

Ash was not a happy camper. The reason was the Thunderstone that was given to him to evolve Pikachu, which he held in his hand, Pikachu safely AWAY from it..

"I will NOT evolve Pikachu unless he WANTS me to evolve him." Ash said before looking at a pool of water. AS far as he knew, no water-types used a thunderstone to evolve.

"Are you kidding?!" Misty asked, horrified by Ash's clear train of thought. "Thunderstones aren't easy to get your hands on! What if Pikachu wants to evolve one day?"

"Pika-chu-pi." '_Not. Fucking. Happening. I LIKE being a Pikachu._' the mouse said, not happy at all about the Surge stupidity. At least Ash respected his Pokemon enough to let them be what they wanted to be. Charmander wanted and wants to be a Charizard again, Ash will let it happen. Bulbasaur and Squirtle want to stay as they are, Ash doesn't mind.

So, when Ash thought of tossing the stone, Pikachu was not against it.

"If my Pokemon want to evolve, they'll let me know or they'll just do it." Ash said. "I don't see Pikachu reaching for the Thunderstone."

Misty shrugged, conceding the point, not noticing the new royalty was still griping. Ash wanted nothing to do with the Thunderstone, Rota, or lots of other things in his travels. But he couldn't help it! Lots of Poke-prophecies seemed to revolve around him, and he wanted nothing to do with them.

Ash tossed it into the water, moving on before some Magikarp tossed it back, Ash going back to byronic brooding.

_WHACK_! At least until two feathered Pokemon smacked him in the head. "Noc." '_Stop brooding. It's not your style_.' Noctowl said, hanging onto Ash's left shoulder while Pidgeotto stood beside him, still barely coming up to his shoulder. "Otto." '_Yeah, you're not the brooding and angsty type. Unless people you know randomly do things that make no sense like say you're worthless for no reason_.'

Yeah, that wasn't likely. Misty wasn't going to randomly steal all his water-types and Brock wasn't going to say he was a worthless sack of stupidity or something like that. Unless it was some weird-ass mirror universe where good and evil suddenly flipped and he was the only constant.

Reflection Cave didn't count, as that was just a very… tsundere Serena and shy Ash. But he didn't have all the facts there, so it didn't matter either way.

No, the only changes here were Shadow Pokemon being a plague and people having to be paranoid around wild ones. So far as he knew.

Ash grinned. "Heh. Thanks for that. Both of you." He brooded too much. Having his friends there to slap him out of it made getting through this bearable. Ash smiled again as both birds preened under the praise, only to realize he mentioned both of them, and they started glaring again.

* * *

**Unknown location**

* * *

Trilling and cooing filled the air as light filtered through the canopies. It wasn't as much as he would like, but… the sounds were familiar.

He opened his eyes and saw birds. Tiny birds, one that pecked a tree and one with a giant bill.

Toucannon and its' preevolutions. This was his nest.

"Rooooooowl." 'I'm… tired. I need sun. And why aren't I with Ash?' the bird cooed before remembering what happened.

The Mythical grass-type. The end of the world.

…those things Ash's Pokemon back at the Oak ranch were real?! The little grass owl shook his tiredness away, noticing pieces of egg.

HIS egg. "Let?" '…_Did I just hatch_?' Rowlet cooed, confused. He hatched two years ago, his mother, a Dartrix… having a night with one of the Trumbeaks.

She didn't want his egg, he did not care to know her. But this had a problem. If he really went back in time, he was sure Ash wasn't in Alola.

"Trumbeak." '_Welcome to the world, little one.'_

Rowlet looked up. A Trumbeak looked down at him fondly.

"Rowl?" '_Um. Hi?' _The little grass/flying type took several deep breaths, trying to clamp down on his panic. Before Ash came to Ahola, Rowlet was relatively lazy, sleeping off most of the day and not doing much. Ash changed that. Somewhat: he still slept a lot, but he learned how to fight. Before, he was a weak glider that just knew Leafage. Now he knew so many attacks and was learning more from Ash before the...incident.

"Beak." `'_I know you're confused. We're all different from you_.' the Trumbeak said, Rowlet wanting to doze off already. He'd heard this before. But while he wanted to nap, he had to find the others: Lycanroc and Litten were probably just as confused.

The bird made a quick look around before trilling and taking flight. He couldn't waste time napping: his friends were Arceus-knew-where.

He flew over the forest floor, gliding expertly despite his tiredness. He regretted setting off after just hatching, feeling tired due to just taking off but if he started sleeping now, he wouldn't stop for days. And he had to find Lycanroc and Torracat NOW.

Once he cleared the forest treeline, something pounced on him, forcing him to the ground.

"Mrow." '_You know your gliding doesn't keep you from being seen, right_?' said his attacker, whose claws were extended, but not touching his feathers. "Li." '_You're lucky I can smell you_.'

Rowlet turned his head to find a young black and red cat with hints of orange here and there, his yellow eyes staring into his own. "Rowl?" '_Torracat_?' the bird asked.

"Mreow." '_Litten, at the moment_.' the cat replied before letting him go. "Mer." '_You're one of the Alolan starters. You can't just fly off and not get caught._'

"Rowlet." '_I got away with it before_.' the grass owl said, smoothing out his feathers. "Litten." '_Things have changed. I've seen trainers eye me for a second, then decide I'm not worth it. Remember that grass-type legendary?_' the fire cat asked.

Rowlet trilled happily. "Lit." '_We got sent back in time, but everything's screwed up_.' the cat explained. "Mrow." '_I've seen that officer Jenny woman with a gun. I mean, she hasn't used it as far as I know, but… something is wrong._'

Rowlet knew about guns and how violent they were from those late night history shows Pikachu watched on occasion, but hadn't seen a real one. There hadn't been a real need in Alola for… a long time. Rowlet didn't really know.

The balance was gone. "Rowl." '_We need to get to Ash._' the first catch the trainer had in Alola declared. "Et!" '_He'll know how to fix it!_'

The fire cat gave the grass owl a glare. "Litte." '_One, Ash doesn't know anything about fixing the universe. I've met some of his older captures: he's weird, but not superhuman. Two, I… I'm not sure we need to. Ash gets here eventually. Why risk it?_'

"Rowlet." '_Is this about Stoutland_?' the bird bluntly asked, Litten wincing. "Rowwwwwwwlll." '_I know you don't want to abandon him, but-_-'

"Mrowl." '_You're far too perceptive for a lazy grass bird._' the fire-type stated, mildly annoyed. "Lit." '_Yes, I don't want to leave Stoutland. He's old, but I have to stay! He practically raised me!_'

"Rowletttt." '_I get that. It's why I stayed with the Trumbeak colony._' "Lit." '_Didn't you stay there out of pure laziness_?' Rowlet glared at the fire cat. "Row." '_Just because I'm sleepy, doesn't mean I'm blind._' the owl retorted. "Et." '_One of my parents was a Trumbeak, remember? They're family_.'

Litten let the subject die. "Lit." '_Still have to find_-' he started before getting bowled over by a dog with dogs on his neck and being licked as dogs were wont to do. "Rock!" '_Hi, guys!_' cried the dog.

And there was the… unique Rockruff/Lycanroc. Now the whole gang was there.

"Mrow." '_Lycanroc_.' Litten deadpanned before glaring at the dog pinning him down. "En." '_GET OFF ME._'

The dog got off the cat, who was… moderately annoyed. He was young: it was somewhat excusable.

"Ruff!" '_Where's Ash? Why am I a puppy again_?' Rockruff barked, mainly due to being a dog.

"Rowlet!" '_Time travel, weird things, end of the world… you know._' the owl said. "Owl." '_Noctowl told me everything during our trip to Kanto_.'

"Rock." '_There's a joke in there, but I don't know it._' the puppy stated. "Ock?" '_So… do we wait for Ash or-_-'

"Rowl!" '_If we wait, it'll take forever! We're going to him_!' the owl declared with a hoot.

"Lit." '_Care to explain HOW, grass owl_?' the fire cat snarked. "Ten." '_From what I've been able to tell, there aren't any airplanes this go around_!'

"Let!" '_We'll take a boat! Come on_!' Rowlet took off, heading towards where it remembered the docks were, and Litten and Rockruff soon followed.

* * *

"Row! Let!" '_See, I told you there'd be a boat!_' Rowlet cheered.

'Boat' was… not the way to describe this thing.

It was a HUGE ship, with four massive stacks, colored black, white, with red under the water, two large masts and… it was really REALLY big. Bigger than any plane or boat in Alola, for sure, with, in gold, the name of the ship: AQUITANIA.

"…Lit." '_OK, I can see your point now,_' Litten remarked. "Ten-lit." '_Still, how are we getting on that thing?_'

"Rowlet…" '_I can fly into the stacks_…' Rowlet mused.

"Rock." '_Rowlet, you're a grass-type. You might be able to survive the smoke coming out of that thing, but we can't!_' Rockruff shouted.

Grass-types, by their very nature, were either part-or-fully plant and thus, capable of surviving almost solely on sun, water and carbon dioxide. Litten and Rockruff, on the other hand, had no such aid.

So how?

* * *

**Johto Region - Route 27 - 1458 hours local time**

* * *

Navigating the forests was not difficult, seeing as most of them were forest dwellers at one point or another.

Avoiding the trainers, gyms and Arceus knew who else that wanted to catch them like that Cyndaquil-obsessed trainer, easier: they used the evil Pokemon to their advantage. Shadow Pokemon, for some reason, were like trainer-seeking missiles.

They felt mildly guilty over the possible deaths, but hey, they were taken.

That left… one problem. Route 27 was mostly… water. Totodile could swim, the rest of them… well, fire and water don't mix, plus Chikorita wasn't a strong swimmer. As a Bayleef, sure. As she was now? Not happening.

"Cynda?" '_So uhhh… how are we going to manage this?"_

"Toto." '_We could Dig there?'_ The water-type suggested.

"Phanpy." '_But we don't _know _Dig.'_ the elephant said with a twitching eye. It was a ground-type move and he should be able to learn it, damn it!

"Cynda?" '_Besides Bulbasaur, Gible and Krookodile, none of whom are here."_ the fire badger said before the ground shook slightly.

"Cross…" '_If that's a Shadow Pokemon, I am punching it until it makes a tunnel to Kanto for us_." the fighting/bug-type declared as the ground began to crumble...

…And a brown head with dark eye patches poked out, the crocodilian skull yawning slightly with a wordless 'Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaand...'

"Chi." '_Convenient. That you, Krookodile_?' asked the walking pear as she glared at the ground/dark-type.

"Sand?" '_Huh?' _The croc crawled out as his eyes widened. "Dile!" '_Chikorita! Guys, you have to see this!'_

And out of the tunnel burst forth all of Ash's Unova pokemon. Pidove, Oshawott, Tepig, Snivy, Sewaddle, Roggenrola and Scraggy.

Cyndaquil smiled, and looked up. "Cyndaquil." '_Arceus, if you did this, thanks.' _

(In Sinnoh, the god llama felt appreciated for once)

"Osha." '_I thought we were heading for the Decolores!_' Oshawott shouted in confusion.

"Sand…" '_I followed Pidove's directions. Blame her_.' the croc said as he took a brief nap.

"Dov!" '_I don't navigate underground, damn it! I'm a bird!_' the songbird shouted before something metal crawled out of the tunnel, looking around and then resting far from the fire-types.

"Tep?" '_Where'd the Durant come from?_' Tepig asked, IDing the Pokemon as the bug/steel-type ant.

"Snivy." 'R_emember that cave we broke into a while back before nearly getting killed by that Sawk_?' Snivy said, shuddering at remembering that nightmare fighting-type.

"Ant." '_Must make nest. Place not safe._" the ant said almost robotically. Then again, Durants weren't known for communicating with sounds, using pheromones 99% of the time with speech to deal with non-bugs.

"Cynda?" '_Shadow Pokemon?' _

"Ant." '_Corrupted one. Destroyed. Ran. Must build.'_

"Sand…" 'She can help us get to Pallet.' the croc said. It was a girl? Cyndaquil didn't notice: the voice was odd.

Right, Pokemon that never left their region. They could ID pokemon gender more easily.

"Sand." 'We're going to have to dig just to the other side and AROUND Mount Silver.' Sandile stated.

"Sni?" 'Can't dig through rock?' Snivy mocked.

"Sand!" 'You try digging through granite and dolerite!' Sandile shot back. Granite was hard enough and considered the best and hardest building material on the planet. Parts of that pyramid in that weird desert country were made of granite.

Dolerite was even HARDER than granite. Only Tyranitar could break through that, mainly because that was their main food item, constantly generated by Geodudes and the like on the mountain. It was said the mountain was always building up and the only thing keeping it from getting any bigger were the Tyranitar line.

"Sni." 'Shit. I didn't know that. Arceus above, don't shout.' the grass snake said wincing as she eyed the pain in the rear that was the second-tallest mountain in the Kanto-Johto-Hoenn-Sinnoh area, Mount Coronet taking that particular honor for itself.

Explained why Arceus made her home up there. But right now, they had a giant obstacle to get around.

* * *

**Hoenn region - Route 118**

* * *

A Shadow Swellow landed on the ground, twitching violently as it tapped the surface furiously. It knew it heard something in the ground, but he couldn't quite make it out.

_Du-dun_.

There it was again! The Swellow put its head closer to the ground, trying to get a better grasp of the noise.

_Du-dun. Du-dun. Du-dun. Du-dun. _

The earth erupted as something leapt from below.

CHOMP!

And clamped onto its' wing, biting hard enough to nearly break the bones. It was a native of Sinnoh, uncommon in Hoenn.

"Gib!" '_Hi_!' said the land shark, smiling with his eyes before the Shadow Pokemon dislodged the Gible and flew off, getting angry.

"Gible!" '_Come back!_' cried the land shark.

"Tail!" '_Gible? Where'd you come from?_' cried a Tailow that sounded… familiar to the Gible before landing on the land shark's fin, allowing Gible to inhale her scent. "Gible!" '_Swellow_!' cried Ash's land shark...before attempting to bite her.

"Tail! Tail! Low!" '_Wait, wait wait! My head's not big enough Gible!_'

Too late.

CHOMP.

"…Tail" '…_Missed you too, Gible…_' Tailow muttered, sounding muffled as her head was engulfed in Gible's maw.

"Tre." '_Great. Him_.' stated a Treecko as he came over a rise along with many more of his kind, along with a Corphish. "Ko." '_Mind if you take a bite for me?_' Ash's future Sceptile asked the crawfish.

"Cor!" '_He's just going to bite us anyways!_' Corphish declared before Gible let Tailow go…

CHOMP!

And Corphish got Gibled.

"Cor." '_This is why I'm glad I have a hard exoskeleton,_' The Crab-like Pokemon said, as Gible warbled as he bit down from his spot. "Phish." '_Good to see you too, you little land shark._'

"Gible~!" '_Friends! So many of Ash's friends!_' Gible declared before a fire monkey got out of the tunnel Gible had made. "Chim…" '_I hate being underground…_' said the Chimchar before looking at the collection of Pokemon. "Cha." '_We're in Hoenn, aren't we_?"

"Tail." '_What gave you that impression?_' Taillow deadpanned before Turtwig got out of the hole. "Turt." '_At last, sunlight_.' said the turtle before someone surprised them. "Gli… " '_No more tunnel…_' moaned the bat-like Gligar that just barely caught up with them with Gible's… Gibling.

They barely remembered Gligar before leaving Sinnoh, to which the bat was… unhappy. They still sported bruises.

"SWELL!" cried the Shadow Pokemon as it returned.

"Gib!" '_Excuse me!_' Gible hopped off Corphish as he opened his maw… as a familiar ball of energy began building up within his mouth.

"Sno…!" '_Wait a minute, isn't that the Piplup-seeker?_!' Snorunt cried in horror as Gible released it… and it hit the Shadow Swellow like it would Piplup, exploding on contact and smacking the bird into a rock.

"Gible!" '_Bye-bye_!' said the land shark.

"Koal?" '_I thought that only hit Piplup?_' Torkoal asked, as everyone had told him it only hit Dawn's starter, the Piplup with a minor Napoleon Complex.

"Treecko." '_You weren't at the Sinnoh League. Gible actually used it perfectly. But I have one problem with that…_' the gecko pokemon stated.

"Gib?" '_What's your problem?_' Gible asked.

"Tre." '_That homed in like it was going for Piplup, not turning into self-forging explosives. Did you forget how to do it?_' Treecko asked.

Gible just smiled happily. "Gib!" '_Nope! But if I used that one, I'd hurt everyone here_!' he said.

Treeko had to give him that. A proper Draco Meteor was very widespread in it's damage.

"Tork." '_Well, thanks for coming along when you did. That Swellow would have caused some problems.' _

"Gible." '_You're welcome.'_ Gible replied.

Treecko had let his guard down. This was a mistake he realized only too late as he saw Gible fly towards him. By the time he tried to react-

CHOMP!

He was already in the land shark's maw, enduring the Gible greeting. "Gible!" '_Friend!_' cried the land shark.

"Tree!" '_Let go of me, you damned land shark! You know I hate it when you do that!_'

Gible let go, smiling with his eyes. "Gib!" '_But you like kicking things in the face!_' warbled the dragon. Treecko sighed. That was one reason to get to Kanto: Ash always had someone he could fight. Charizard and he had that much in common, at least.

They both sought strong opponents.

"Ko?" '_How would you know this, young dragon?_' asked the Treecko elder, who had been listening in without their knowing.

Ash's three starters looked at each other. The elder had them there. Gible were rare in Hoenn and Sinnoh starters don't go near Hoenn.

"Chim. Char." "_Well… it's a long story involving Celibi and a trainer. Gible, why don't you play with that Swellow? This is going to take some time.'_

"Gib." '_He doesn't seem friendly_.' Gible said.

"Tur." '_Just means you can be as rough as you like_.' Turtwig deadpanned.

Gible looked at the Swellow, which was getting back up and screaming unintelligibly. "Gible!" '_I'll bite him until he becomes a friend!_' Gible cried as he ran towards the swallowtail pokemon.

"Cor." '_Gibles are an odd species._' Corphish declared as Gible bit on the Shadow Swellow's wing, warbling the whole time. They'd put up with his biting habits because they didn't have much choice.

Gibles were a social lot, but they had hands that were useless for anything but guiding food. So they communicated with bites. They learned that the hard way.

So did Professor Sycamore, according to Ash. The Gible that became the Professor's Garchomp wasn't fond of being touched and the human scientist had Gible toothmark-shaped scars to prove it.

'Back to the topic at hand, Sceptile.' thought the gecko, getting sidetracked by Gible chomping on everything he could just to make a friend.

"Tree." '_So, this all centers around a human trainer named Ash. To make a very long story shorter, he ended up stopping a human from controlling Palkia and Dialga, but the two ended up going insane and destroyed all of reality, and Celibi sent Ash back in time to save the two.'_

Naturally, they didn't believe him. They all gave him the looks of disbelief, doubt and the like.

"Cor." '_He likes to fight. A lot. Against anything and everything. Even things he's got a type disadvantage against!_' Corphish said, trying to prove his story by saying something about the grass-type no one else knew.

"Tre." '_You live here in Hoenn, crab._' said one of the wild geckos, the unsaid 'you would have known somehow' hanging in the air.

"Turt." 'He never goes anywhere without a twig in his mouth.' Turtwig said, just to get it over with. Turtwigs were never seen in Hoenn outside foreign trainers and they would have smelled him if he got close.

This Turtwig was wild and uncaught. He would have had no opportunity to know their twig-chewing self-proclaimed protector. And none of the flying-types here were long-distance flyers, nor big enough to carry any of them.

They dug here, with a Gible that just so happened to be from Sinnoh, just like them.

"Swell!" '_Get away from me you walking mouth!'_

"Gible!" '_Friend! FRIEND!'_

And the fact they had a Gible with them. Tallow and their evolutions didn't leave Hoenn, though they heard some lived in Kalos, whose ancestors were caught, but released. And this one clearly knew how the chomper behaved.

"Cko…" '_I don't want to believe it. It's insane._' the elder said.

"Char." '_Want Celebi to prove it_?' Chimchar asked. It was said with confidence, like they knew the mythical grass-type.

"Tree…" '_What is it you plan on doing?'_ one of the Treecko asked.

"Chimchar." '_Well, meeting up with Ash again.'_ the fire monkey said. "Him." '_He's a good man. A bit idealistic and foolish at times, but not stupid. Though...a bit forgetful_.'

"Turt." '_While I do like remembering, I think we should move on._' Turtwig suggested. "Wig?" '_Where's the closest port to Kanto?_'

Tailow hmmed before chirping. "Low!" '_Lilycove City! But that's a long way off. We're gonna have to go through the desert_.' the bird said.

"Corphish." '_We could dig under it."_

"Turtwig." '_That's a lot of us to move underground.' _

"Tree." '_We'll figure that on the way. Let's get moving.'_

* * *

**RMS Germanic - Kalos Region - 1348 hours local time**

* * *

The limiting factor, as always, was Goomy.

As a Goodra, he was dangerous, powerful, almost impossible to take down, rivaled in staying power only by Snorlax and Torterra, truly one of Ash's greatest battlers.

He could also _walk_.

"Goo." '_Damn it, I HATE being a Goomy_!' gooed the snail dragon. "My!" '_Slow, weak, PATHETIC_.'

"Hawk." '_You have problems._' the luchador bird said, still guarding Noibat's egg.

"Goo!" '_Of course I do! I went from badass back to this again!'_

"Eve." '_Looking to evolve too?'_

Goomy blinked, turning to see Serena's Eevee pad up to them. "Goom." '_Yeah. Being a Goomy sucks.'_

"Vee." '_Yeah. I've been trying to evolve into a Sylveon myself.'_ the brown normal-type said.

Goomy resisted the urge to shudder. He got over this long after evolving. He did not fear fairy-types. Not anymore.

But this could help. Fairy-types were immune to dragon-type attacks. He could blast a fairy with all his draconic might and not do a thing. The perfect practice dummy, in theory. The problem was getting Eevee TO evolve into Sylveon. The non-stone evolutions were always tricky, according to a number of wild Eevee he had met in the swamps prior to meeting Ash. Mossy Rocks, Ice Rocks, those were less of a pain. But the other three? A pain to deal with.

"Goom." '_Say, you want to try and train together? See if we could get closer to evolving?'_

"Eev… ee." '_That… doesn't sound like a bad idea.'_

And because they were both small and weak, they didn't have to worry about hurting or damaging the ship.

"Haw." '_I'll keep an eye out and help you two out as needed.' _The fighting bird declared.

They would need someone to force them apart.

"Hey, look!" came a voice Goomy hoped he would NEVER hear again as he 'saw' using his antennae.

PAINFULLY yellow hair was the big identifying mark for the most annoying girl he had ever known: Bonnie Cetron, sister of near-failure-of-an-engineer_-and_-gym-leader Clemont, wearing some kind of fashionable dress he had no idea what it was called and all too shrill.

Not to mention her insults towards him when he was introduced to Ash. He wasn't putting up with it: no, this time _she _would be scared of _him _for being him, not just being a Sliggoo that could melt her. As that amusing as that was.

"Goomy." '_Hawlucha, if she comes at me and starts insulting me, don't stop me.' _The little dragon growled.

"Haw." '_Okay.'_

"Eve?" '_What are you two on about?'_

"Goo." '_Just stay away from the little blond one. You might get burned.'_

"An Eevee!" cried Bonnie as she approached, not noticing Goomy until he fired off a burst of dragon fire. This was going to be a pain.

* * *

**Elsewhere in Kalos**

* * *

Team Flare. One of the nastier 'Teams', given their goal wasn't so much world domination as it was a global reset, using an ancient superweapon to attempt to kill everyone on Earth that wasn't Team Flare. They were tough. They were determined.

And they were getting their heads handed to them.

The base was one of their smaller ones, and out in the outskirts of civilization, but that wasn't really helping, as an armored figure tore through the base, firing off missiles down every side corridor and laying into the mooks that tried to stop him with an assault rifle. Any return fire, even Pokemon attacks, just bounced off the dark blue armor.

While they would eventually get through, the figure was not giving them the chance, continuing to fire and decimate the Team Flare idiots. Time was not on their side and they knew it. But they continued to fight this invader.

The helmet visor of the intruder was displaying various information to them, such as directions of incoming attacks, what lay down each branching path, and other data they were taking advantage of. Eventually, they reached one spot where the base opened into a large chamber. The visor quickly located key structural supports, also recording all data the suit's onboard computers could collect about what was in the chamber.

The remaining Flare operatives gathered and fired, attempting to end this intruder, managing to do some damage with their own rockets, but all that seemed to do to the one in the suit was just piss it off as it returned fire, unleashing guided missiles on the poor bastards.

"_Did you have to kill all of them? I mean, they can give you more information if you let them live." _

"The people in a smaller base like this are all grunts or zealots, Rin," the man in the armor replied over his comms, and while the external speakers would distort his voice if he spoke, within the voice was that of Kyril Pernon. "The grunts don't know enough to bother, and the zealots will never say anything aside from the party line."

"Just sayin', your life would be easier if you left a couple of them alive." his… companion, for lack of a better term (they weren't married, they were together; it was complicated) retorted. "The government's branded your alter ego, as it were, a menace and the Royal Family's put a bounty on your head. What was Princess Diantha's words about you?" She paused, seeming to think. "Ah, right, 'this 'Marauder' is as much a threat to the stability of Kalos as Team Flare is'!"

He let out a groan, even as he finished recording all the data, and began running to get out of the base, even as one of his shoulder-mounted missile launchers turned around and fired some missiles at the marked supports. Hidden thrusters ignited, increasing his forward speed as he actually stopped running and started flying like a human rocket - he couldn't maintain thrust output for too long, but it was usually enough to get out of one of these bases when it started crumbling. "Yeah, I know where she's coming from, but she doesn't know the full picture - and honestly, it's better that way."

Given that the full picture was that one of his closest friends and supporters in his early years had sold Pernon Group weaponry to the Teams, and one of them had actually used those same weapons to try and kill him, but when he was barely clinging to life they'd captured him instead and tried to force him to make weapons for them, it was probably a good thing that most of the public didn't know the full story. The first version of the Marauder Armor had been made to effect his escape, and ever since he'd been on something of a one-man war against the Teams, the armor improving with every new clash as he learned and adapted, though Rin becoming his partner and finding out led to him having a vital assistant in that war.

Team Rocket was the most annoying, outside Team Galactic, whose goals were shadowy, even from him.

And their leader… it was almost like Galactic didn't even HAVE a leader. But all of them had leaders. Aqua had Archie, Magma had Maxie, Plasma… that kid, N, was just a pawn. There was no way he was the 'king' of Plasma.

Team Skull of Alola wasn't even worth the title. Guzma wasn't leading a team, he was leading a gang of punks.

Flare, too, had a leader. But that son of a Helixian whore went to insane trouble to hide himself.

All he could do was cleave through the grunts and zealots, denying Flare resources and troops, and getting what data he could from the bases he trashed - hopefully he'd find a lead on Flare's boss, or at least one of their Admins.

"By the way, the _Germanic's _going to be leaving in 4 hours, so, you know, would you MIND getting back to the ship?" Rin half-asked/all-demanded. "You said you wanted to go to Kanto and begin cracking down on Team Rocket. And as there's no airplanes and won't be until someone's stupid enough to invade Orre…"

"Right, right," Kyril replied as he made it out of the base, setting back down on his feet and turning to face the base he'd left as it all just collapsed into a crater. He then turned back towards where the port was, activating his thrusters again, but this time as jump jets to get incredible jumping height and distance. He'd head for a specific building near Brest, get out of the armor and get it loaded into trucks for transport, then have it ferried the rest of the way to the ship. Though, as he traveled, part of him wondered if there was a way to make the Teams even more scared of him… maybe blaring hard rock over inbuilt speakers such that it eventually triggered a fear response in the Pavlovian fashion?

But that was for the future. First thing's first: get to the boat without getting seen or shot at with anti-tank weapons. Because with that plague from Orre, anti-tank weaponry was a thing: there was a gym leader in Johto that commonly carried a freaking grenade launcher to deal with tough shadow Pokemon. But he was getting off topic. At least he could fuel his quest for revenge and justice with his company. At least the shipping business was his and his alone and no one was trying to sink his ships.

* * *

**Hau'oli City, Melemele Island, Alola Region - 1645 hours local time**

* * *

Supplies were required for everyone not Rowlet. He could survive on sun, they couldn't. And stealing the food and such on the ship was a dumb idea: if that Jenny with a gun was any indication, this world was infinitely more violent.

They didn't like it. But that was outside their control. So, yeah, they had to get what they needed right now.

So they were grabbing as much food and berries for the trip before they snuck their way aboard one of the ships. But they did notice that they were being watched.

"Rowl." Their eyes in the sky saw them first. '_Guys, we've got visitors.'_

Rockruff got ready for a fight, then noticed what they were. One of them was a Grubbin, a bug-type they were somewhat familiar with, as Ash had tried to catch one prior to the… Murder-kyu incident.

The other was… a Meowth. Blue-gray, kinda fat compared to the talking one they were used to, but still a Meowth. A native of Alola, just like them.

"Meow?" '_What are you lot doing?_' asked the Alolan Meowth.

"Ruff." '_Getting ready for a trip. What do you two want?'_

"Meowth." '_Just wondering what a whole bunch of wildlings are doing working together.'_

"Lit." '_We are not wild.' _The firecat stuck his nose up in disdainfully, much like a cat. "Ten." '_We've just been separated from our trainer.'_

"Gru-b." '_You don't smell like it._' the grub asked.

Rockruff growled. '_Don't start. We're trying to get to Kanto._' the puppy retorted.

"Mrow." '_The _Aquitania's _going to Kanto tomorrow..._' the Alolan Meowth mused.

"Rowl." '_Well, at least we have a ship.' _The bird quipped.

"Meow." '_I don't believe that you're going all the way to Kanto just for a trainer. But if you're going to Kanto, I want to come with. I've always wanted to see more than the islands.'_

"Ru-b." '_So have I, to be honest.' _The bug admitted.

"Rock." '_Well, there goes plan A. We'll have to be sneaky when he comes to getting food on the ship: stick to cargo areas, unoccupied rooms and stuff like that. At night… well, unless there's big parties, we can go out on deck._' the puppy said, making all of them look at him.

"Rowlet?" '_That's… complex. Something I thought Ash would come up with._' Rowlet said.

"Rock?" 'We spent almost five months together, out of our pokeballs most of the time… and you DON'T expect to pick anything up from your trainer?' Rockruff asked indignantly.

"Litt." 'True.' the cat said, looking at the massive ship, designed to run the gauntlet against the storms that he heard formed on the oceans before looking at the Alolan Meowth. "Ten." 'You want to come along, come on. Just don't slow us down.'

"Meow." '_I could also hunt Rattata. Make it look like I'm employed by the crew." _The cat suggested as they all started their way towards the docks.

"Rock." '_We'll figure that out on the boat. We first have to get aboard.'_

* * *

**Mount Silver, Johto/Kanto border - 0245 hours local time**

* * *

The big dig was going strong, with two diggers speeding everything up. The problem was that they couldn't dig under the mountain due the superhard materials and they couldn't go through it for the same reason. It would take steel tools, not a steel-type, to get through it.

So they didn't bother and had to go around the mountain. But that required visualising their path, so they decided to take a break to let the group rest up and have something to eat. Having traveled multiple regions over the past few days, the Unova group's internal clocks were a bit messed up.

"Saaaaaaaaaaaand." The sand croc yawned, resting lazily against a tree. '_All this digging is making me tired.'_

"Phant." 'Keeping up with you is tiring enough.' the mini-elephant retorted, his own legs having given out as they got out of the tunnel. The steel ant was fruitlessly trying to continue digging, but a quick biting from Totodile was enough to halt that and force the Durant to sleep.

For fifteen minutes. After that, she continued digging.

"Cyn." '_That ant is relentless_.' the fire badger said as she watched the bug-type dig.

"Tep." '_Durants take short naps all the time before going right back to it._' Tepig stated, resting his legs. "Pig?" '_So, we should be back in Kanto tomorrow_?'

"Cynda." '_Should be. Problem is deciding where to go first. Should we stop by the ranch first, or see if we can intercept Ash?"_

"Turtwig." '_Let's see if we can run into him. If I remember correctly, he should be on his way towards Cerulean City for the Gym.'_

"Sand." '_That's right.' _The croc yawned again, picking dirt out his teeth. "Diiiile." '_Didn't Ash travel with that Gym Leader?'_

"Cynda!" '_Misty! She was pretty, but… well, she pretended not to like Ash._' Cyndaquil exclaimed. "Quil." '_Hopefully, they'll get together this time._'

"Osha." '_Not happening. He's going to get together with Iris_.' Oshawott said proudly.

"Chik." '_That stupid girl with the Dragonite that wouldn't listen?_' Chikorita asked rhetorically. "Rita." '_Please. She's not his type._'

"Sni." 'And what is our idiot's 'type'?' Snivy asked, somewhat with a bite. All of the regional pokemon preferred their girl to be with Ash. Charizard was noncaring, as he met most of them and Pikachu didn't care, either.

"Tep." 'She's got dark skin, she likes to travel-' Tepig started.

"Todo." 'And wants to be a gym leader or champion. Misty's already got that and is happy with it.' Tododile said, laying back. "Dile." 'What's Iris got? Nothing.'

"Dove!" 'At least Iris can stay with him unlike your Poke-gym leader!' Pidove shouted.

"Cynda!" 'And yours can only see things in black and white!' Cyndaquil shouted.

And thus the argument began.

'Poke!'

'Negai!'

'Poke!'

'Negai!'

Sandile didn't join in and buried his head in the dirt. Arguing about who Ash would get together with was pointless, as Ash would never do it. The croc could feel it: Ash didn't want to 'get together' with anyone.

"Hera-CROSS!." '_Would you all shut up?!' _At his yell, the argument quieted down. '_I'd rather not attract _another _shadow Pokemon with an argument about Ash's mate! Play matchmaker when we find him."_

That shut them down real quick.

"Phan." '_I'm more worried about how Ash is going to handle all of us." _The little elephant started quietly. "_Hasn't he always run six pokeballs?'_

That was true. No matter what, outside that arrogant ass that Ash crushed with Pikachu and the Kanto crew back before the Indigo League, no one used more than six balls. They never understood why.

"Pine." 'What are y'all talking about?' the Pineco asked, coming back from getting berries for Sandile.

"Cynda." 'The six-ball limit for trainers.' Cyndaquil answered.

"Pine..." '_Right, that. I think there was a rule about that_.' Pineco stated. "Co." '_It was made during the formation of this League thing I hear humans talk about during their trips. Prevented trainers from cheating during some big fight._'

Gym battles and conferences, no doubt.

"Cyndaquil." '_Fuck that rule._' the fire-type declared. '_Ash doesn't like cheating, directly or indirectly. Pikachu told us about that gym battle where Pikachu got supercharged and Ash still feel like he hadn't earned that badge because of it_.'

"Sand." '_The less said about Unova, the better. From what everyone's said, Ash was off his game there._' Sandile declared.

"Hera." '_Well what about food?' _The bug asked, causing most of them to blink. "Cross." '_I'm fine, but you don't want to drain all of Ash's money on food, do you?' _

"Chikorita." '_Well, I can learn Grassy Terrain and-_' Chikorita started, but Sandile spoke up.

"Dile." '_Some of us can't deal with pure vegetation. Charizard and I need some form of protein and contrary to what everyone seems to think, tofu won't cut it_.' the croc said.

"Tododil." 'Let's not think about it. Oak's lab is only a few days away and we can get food there before going to Ash's next gym.' Tododile said before laying down to go to sleep. The water gator was right: they'd never reach Cerulean in time.

They'd worry about that tomorrow. For now… rest.

* * *

Entry 10: Goomy psychology

The weakest dragon-type is Goomy, though researchers would argue the flying/dragon-type Noibat shares this title as well and is more deserving, as Goomy is a pure dragon while Noibat has the inclusion of the flying-type.

Goomys, for the most part, are simple, gentle creatures, feeding mainly on foliage, soaking up water to maintain their form. A Goomy's main defense is its' soft body, covered in a mucus that deflects most bodyblows. But a Goomy knows they are not powerful enough to fight, thus they either form social groups with other Pokemon or they seek to evolve into Sliggoo. This is usually timed with a rainstorm to force their evolution to Goodra at the same time, as a Sliggoo cannot use eyesight, but must rely on sonar-like navigation and Sliggoo dislike being unable to see and unwittingly injuring their family members.

One Goomy is an anomaly, having the aggression levels of a Charizard and has recently been seen with Ash Ketchum. As always, avoid Ketchum's Pokemon at all costs: once that Goomy evolves into a Sliggoo, your lives WILL be in danger, as a universal trait of all of them is to protect their trainer with lethal force.

* * *

Entry 11: The Six-Ball Limit

While trainers can, in theory, carry as many Pokemon on their person as they like, for the most part, the League has installed a limiting system into each and every Pokeball, allowing only six to be active at all times, the others being put in a kind of stasis.

However, it is fairly easy to bypass the limiter, if one has the electrical knowledge to do so. While the League frowns on this, it is not illegal to have bypassed pokeballs on your person, only to use more in a regulated match.

While Team Rocket operates outside the law, we usually impose the same limit for practical reasons: caring for more then two is difficult and why only certain agents carry more than three. The only grunts known to do so are the agents known as Jessie and James, with almost all of their Pokemon kept at HQ.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: (holds napping Rowlet) Aww, he's cute. And the only appearance of Ash has been at the beginning! That's a first. And while all of them are en route, some will get there faster. Sandile happens to be closer, mainly due to the fact that he HAS been shown to be the digging machine from hell.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yep - and yes, Kyril Pernon is basically Iron Man with Batman's rep. Given what he's been through, though, it does kinda make sense.**

**Ron the True Fan: And now for the thing that was promised. See, Take and I had a talk when Detective Pikachu came out (yes, this is THAT old, get over it) about the voices of Ash's team. And thus, the result: the list of voice actors and actresses that are Ash's Team! (We might do the rest later)**

Pikachu: Ryan Reynolds  
Charmander: Johnny Yong Bosch  
Riolu: Mark Hamill  
Pidgeot: Wendee Lee  
Mimikyu: Chantal Strand

Beedrill: Richard Ian Cox

Butterfree: Chris Patton

Spearow: Sean Connery

Tauros Army: Temuera Morrison

Snorlax: Tom Gibis

Bulbasaur: Matt Mercer

Squirtle: Kyle Hebert

Primeape: Doug Erholtz

Noctowl: Pierce Brosnan

Bayleef: Tabitha St. Germain

Totodile: Jason David Frank

Quilava: Alaina Burnett

Donphan: Alex Zahara

Heracross: Michael Hogan

Sceptile: David Lodge

Swellow: Lindsay Jones

Torkoal: Vic Mignogna

Snorunt: Andrew Francis

Corphish: William Shatner

Torterra: Brian Bloom

Chimchar: Brad Swaile

Buizel: DeForrest Kelly

Staraptor: Harrison Ford

Gible: Rebecca Forstadt

Pidove: Arryn Zech

Oshawott: Levar Burton

Snivy: Nana Visitor

Tepig: Avery Brooks

Roggenrola: Anna Cummer

Palpitoad: Lyssa Browne

Krookodile: Mark Ruffalo

Noivern: Denis Lawson

Goodra: Michael Dorn

Hawlucha: Patrick Stewart

Talonflame: Vanessa Morley

Greninja: Brad Swaile

Torracat: Yuri Lowenthal

Rowlet: Dave Wittenberg

Rockruff: Kirby Morrow

Alolan Meowth: Armin Shimerman

**Ron the True Fan: More will come as they are added. And as new captures happen. While I know Ash has a Meltan by now, this was made PRIOR to Ash catching it. But it'll show up. When it's right for it to.**

**Redemption's Avenger: I AM HERE. Not much more to say. Just here to help out.**

**Ja Ne!**


	9. Chapter 8: School's Out

**Ron the True Fan: And we have returned. Ash will return to greater prominence than last time, but there are always consequences. Always a cause and effect. …I should not have watched the Matrix before writing this note.**

**Takeshi Yamato: So, now that Ash is on his way from Rota towards Cerulean, what will happen next?**

**Ron the True Fan: Nothing good. Also, in case anyone is wondering why Ash isn't getting lost...Pidgeotto's guiding them around. Aerial navigation is almost as good as GPS in a world without it and Ash does NOT want to get lost this time. He's on the clock.**

* * *

**10 kilometers from Cerulean City Northern Entrance - 0723 hours local time - Day 11 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

The last time he was here, it was a trap. It was no different this time. But it would have a different outcome. That Ash knew for certain.

For at the roots of the mountain range that made up northern Kanto was a school for so-called 'elite trainers'.

Ash proved they weren't so elite back then and he was a rookie. Pokemon Tech was no match for someone that went through six leagues and the island challenges of Alola, lack of proof not withstanding. That and… well, it was here that Ash discovered he had a bit of a type.

"Pika?" '_Thinking about that prissy girl with the Cubone?_' Pikachu asked, a teasing tone in his voice.

"Don't start." Ash retorted. While he had a minor schoolboy crush on Giselle the first time, that was… prior to meeting her in person. To be honest, she was a bitch. And that was a turn RIGHT the hell off. But while her personal interactions with Ash were minimal, lasting a day, her long term effect was showing Ash's type.

He liked girls with long hair. As long as it was past their shoulders, he found it attractive. Jessie was older then him and with James, even if she denied it, but Dawn was a big one. Misty, too, once he figured out how long that side-ponytail was when it wasn't tied. May's bandana hid the length easily, but he was not dumb and she DID let it out once in a while.

Iris was a no brainer. Serena cut her hair, which partially helped him keep her off his mind. Until she kissed him, that is.

'Get your head in the game, Ketchum.' Ash thought at himself, forcing his thoughts away from the women in his life (who would be platonic, if he had any conscious say in it) and onto Pokemon Tech. If he remembered, they sent out the trainer that was the worst against him in some kind of hazing.

Joe, the young man Ash had firstly encountered being quizzed about Pidgey… on a treadmill. Joe had tried to say that it was part of the teaching, but Ash knew that was bullshit, back then, and right now.

This time, Joe had been sent out to fight him, and they both knew that he stood no chance. But Ash was not a jerk. He wouldn't fight anyone that didn't have a chance in hell unless he was training them. Beating the crap out of people wasn't his thing.

"S-Stop!" Joe stammered out, holding his single Pokeball containing a Weepingbel, he thought he had last time. "I-I'm one of the elite students at Pokemon Tech! You're not allowed here!"

Ash sighed. "Look, uh..." he said, giving him an opening to introduce himself.

"J-Joe." his would-be opponent answered.

"Joe, I think we both know you don't have a chance against my team. I don't want to fight you if I don't have to." Ash said gently. "Besides, it looks like you're out here against your will. You don't even want to fight."

"No!" Joe protested. "It's my duty to fight-"

"No it's not." Ash retaliated, putting force behind his voice. "And forcing someone to do something doesn't speak much of your character." Ash called out, looking to the forest.

As expected, some students came out of clever hideaways. Ash was not impressed. Top on his list of things he hated were bullies, outside thieves and Cyrus. (Cyrus trumping EVERYTHING until either the omnicidal bastard was locked up or dead) And these 'elites' were going to learn not to screw with someone with Ash's moral compass.

* * *

30 minutes later

* * *

"Ok, _now_ I just feel bad." Ash said, having taken down Pokemon ranging from a Geodude to a Xatu with only one Pokemon.

"Noc." '_These guys don't even get a workout, what_!' the shiny declared, having kicked the asses of 23 pokemon from six different trainers. On his own.

Ash usually allowed all of his Pokemon out to train, sometimes with his supervision, sometimes off on their own. But he always let them out to get some air.

Were they kept in stasis the entire time or something? Sweet freaking Arceus, he was NEVER this bad! Even at his worst, he tried to care for them the best he could.

And get fried by Charmeleon/Charizard a lot, but the point stands.

"You all suck." Misty declared. "Almost all of you had direct type advantage or moves with it and Ash STILL kicked your asses!" Ash was not comfortable with the almost cheerleader-like tone his tomboy of a friend (and would-be lover, if his Pokemon had any say in it) adopted with that statement. It was like she was back to normal, only...not a tsundere.

"None of you have experience." Ash declared. "You've all been taught, but you've fought very little. And you were all fawning over Noctowl? So what if he's shiny? Pay attention to the fight!"

Out of all of this pile of crap, that pissed him off the most. They were far more interested in the look of his friend than what he was capable of.

That, the lack of training and their elitist attitudes pissed him off. So he was VERY happy to knock them off their high horses.

"A shiny Noctowl?" came the dulcet tones of the girl that showed him the girl he liked, holding a Pokeball in her hand as she walked towards them. "Impressive. Not many people use a Noctowl in competitive battling: too generic, too underpowered."

"Your arrogance _astounds_ me." Ash deadpanned, now VERY tired of this and his true mixed mental age showing. "You use statistics instead of actually training. How often do you even let your Pokemon out of their balls?!"

"Regulated training every day, trained in the right movesets." the prep schoolgirl answered back. "But it's not all of that. Skill is required. And they just proved they lack enough to stop you."

Ash could have used a number of inventive curses to insult her. Kalosian was one of the many languages he was fluent in other then his native one. But he decided to humiliate her.

"Prove it." Ash challenged, wanting to shut her the hell up.

The brat smirked. "Take him down Cubone!" she declared, sending out the skull-clad ground-type.

"Let's bring her down a few pegs, Pika-"

There was a loud _chuff, _a whoosh of noise, and then a loud _BOOM_!

The group ducked instinctively as dirt rained down on them.

"What was that?!" Giselle shouted.

Ash mentally groaned as he released the rest of his team. There was only one group of people that would use their namesake to attack a college dedicated to the training of pokemon. Team Rocket was launching a raid, and he was caught in the middle of it.

One day, he was going to tear Giovanni's head off. Literally or figuratively, he didn't care, as long as Team Rocket stopped being a pain in the ass.

* * *

**Nearby**

* * *

Proton found it ironic that they were using rockets to wreck the school. Most of the time, the Team preferred Pokemon or firearms. But there was a reason for this.

Pokemon Tech had a massive collection of rare, powerful Pokemon and fossils, as well as other materials, in a vault under the school itself, reserved for either highly skilled trainers or the regional professor. And Oak had no interest.

Attacking Oak was suicide and everyone knew it. The man was old, but his team… thinking about those things was nightmarish enough.

But Oak was not here.

"Sir, forward recon's got something." one of the grunts reported from a station in the little command truck Proton was using. He would prefer to just lead from the front, but he had a sprained ankle.

"What is it?" he demanded before the image of a young man with black hair and a League cap was displayed.

He knew who it was. No one in the former United Regions didn't. Ash Ketchum, descendant of the Rotan Royal Family.

Someone that the Kingdom would pay a literal king's ransom to have safely returned to them.

"Change of plans." Proton declared. "I want him alive. I don't care about the rest."

* * *

More rockets hit the buildings, the students fleeing into them to seek cover. Ash and Misty wisely sought cover with them, not wanting to get hit with explosives.

Ash had far too much experience dying in numerous ways and he did not want to know what getting blown up was like.

"What the fuck is Team Rocket doing here?!" Giselle shouted, ducking down as another RPG blew a hole into the side of the building.

"They want your Pokemon." Ash answered.

"Oh really? Over my dead body." Giselle growled. "Everyone, follow me!"

Giselle darted into the building, followed by Ash and the rest of the trainers.

More explosions hit the grounds, while Pikachu fired off lightning and picked a few Rockets off.

"Oh, shit!" came the familiar voices of Ash's least favorite trio, who were up above in their trademark balloon.

And Ash's rage boiled over, what little grip he had on it slipping.

Pikachu noticed and decided to deal with them, firing a thunderbolt at the balloon, which was sent flying towards the attackers. The only reason they weren't dead was their inability to be killed and the mouse knew it.

Of course, not that he would care. Ash would, but Ash was the forgiving type.

The group finally reached the main building, just as another rocket slammed into the building. "We need to take the fight to them." Giselle stated. "Come on."

Giselle ran up to a door with a keypad, quickly input a code, and rushed inside, revealing a sizable armory. Ash blinked at the sight, then remembered that Shadow Pokemon were a thing and weapons like this were needed to handle them. But as Giselle picked out an M14, slammed home a mag and racked the charging handle, he realized what she was proposing.

"Wait a second, we can't just go out and kill them." Ash said, stopping her from going further.

"And why not?" the top student asked. "_They're_ trying to kill _us_."

"If you do that, you're no better then they are." Ash retorted, fighting her for the weapon. "Killing is a LAST resort, a resort no one wants to take! We need to drive them away, not kill them!"

"Well I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let these assholes take what they want!" The student growled as she grabbed a belt of grenades.

"I'm not suggesting we do! Look, let's see if we can do it my way. If that doesn't work, then we can do it your way. I've fought the Rockets before, I know how they work. We can be better than them without falling to their level."

Giselle bored into Ash's eyes. And she found herself wanting, letting go of the rifle. "You've fought them?" she asked.

'_For nearly a decade, plus their regional counterparts_.' Ash thought to himself. "I've fought a few of their grunts, once at Viridian, once at Mount Moon." he replied. '_And wasn't that a disaster, hmm, Ashy-boy_?' said that dark voice in his head, which Ash attributed to his guilt. He promptly ignored it. "We can attack them with Pokemon, non-lethally. Can any of yours use Dig?"

"I have one!" A student called out by a rack of rifles.

"Good. The plan's simple, we make the Rockets think that there's a massive group of trainers here, using our Pokemon to confuse them."

Giselle looked around at the students, then back to Ash. "Alright. We'll do it your way." she said.

"Trust me." Misty said smiling, voicing her opinion of the situation for the first time. "This will work."

* * *

Proton was not a happy man. Rocket after rocket and STILL the building stood.

"What am I going to need to bring this thing down, artillery?!" he screamed, before remembering Team Rocket didn't HAVE artillery. Those were safely locked up.

At Indigo Plateau. With Bruno having the key. And that Onix of his more than willing to kill anyone trying to get in without permission.

So his options were limited. And with old anti-tank rockets going up against a building designed to endure everything up to a flight of pissed off Shadow Dragonite, it was slow going.

"Sir, our forward teams are encountering resistance." One of Proton's lieutenants called out.

"Well then, what's the problem? Kill them."

"That's the problem, sir. They've been ambushed. I've lost contact with three squads."

Proton blinked. His infamous temper was peaking now. '_Calm your ass. Figure out who's...Oh, _shit.' he thought, figuring out who was doing this.

The students would fight back with guns and Pokemon, not Pokemon alone, as he was guessing.

And while Brock's one-badge team wasn't exactly THE most impressive, it was tough enough to handle a trainer who had a month and a half of experience under his belt. Ash Ketchum, on the other hand, beat him on his first week. First try.

Ketchum was a good strategist. The only flaws in his tactics were his team's lack of raw power and his flying-types not getting Steel Wing down. But he knew what he was doing, otherwise their operation in Mount Moon would not have been COMPLETELY FUCKING WRECKED.

Archer was livid about that. Now Proton was sharing the same opinion. Ketchum was a menace.

"RPG teams, saturation fire around the grounds. Flush them out!" Proton waited a moment but heard nothing. "RPG teams?"

"_Sir, the rocket teams- they were taken down, ambushed, by a- oh no… stay away, STAY AWAY- AHHHHHH!" _The man was cut off by a loud whoosh of what sounded like… water?

"_Squirtle!"_ came the call from over the radio.

Intel didn't say anything about Ketchum having a Squirtle! A hyper-aggressive Charmander, yes, but not a Squirtle! Waterflower didn't have one, either.

'If the intel department is being lax again, I'll rip their eyes out and skull-' Proton never finished that thought as his command vehicle rocked side to side. "Evacuate now! Fall back!"

Screw the academy. Not getting caught was more important.

Damn that Rotan bastard-prince. Ketchum would DIE for this. Proton swore it.

* * *

The students cheered, their Pokemon safely coming back to them.

"I don't get it. Why'd they run?" Misty asked. "They had more people, more weapons. Why run when you've got us on the ropes?"

Ash had to admit, Misty was right. Those Pokemon did a hell of a job, but there were a LOT of Rockets out there. They couldn't get them all. So how and why?

"Squirtle!" Ash heard a familiar call. '_Those assholes stood no chance against my power!'_

A small blue water turtle rolled onto the scene, popping up and posing proudly.

"Pikachu!" '_Holy Arceus, is that you, Squirtle!?'_

"Squir!" '_In the shell! I heard the explosions, saw some Rockets, and messed them up! Nobody expects the Squirtle inquisition!'_ declared Ash's first water-starter.

No one expected Squirtle, indeed. Ash met him shortly before going into Vermillion City, not on the road or after.

"Squirt." '_So, back to the first league, huh? Shame Ash can't-_-'

"Pikachu." '_He can understand every word we're saying. Side-effect of how Celebi sent us back through time_.' the electric-type replied. The water turtle looked at Pikachu incredulously. "Tle." 'Really?'

"Pikapi." '_Ash figured it would be mental travel, so he only asked for us to come back. Stress of having a dozen humans crammed inside his own mind would drive him insane. Pokemon are...easier_.' Pikachu stated.

Ash scratched Pikachu behind the ears. "Later." He said quietly, turning back to Giselle.

"I'm amazed this worked!" The lead student exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure no one died!"

Ash smiled. "Some people may deserve to die, but many more deserve to live." He said, his mind drifting to Lucario and Latios. "We are not the ones to make that judgment."

Ash clapped a hand on Giselle's shoulder, giving her a kind smile. "I hope you learn that."

With that, he looked to his old Squirtle. No words needed to be exchanged, as Squirtle jumped towards a Pokeball and caught himself.

"Squirt!" '_Boss_!' came the cries of another Squirtle as she ran towards Ash. '_He must've brought the entire Squirtle Squad with him_.' Ash thought to himself. He couldn't abandon them or Ash.

The League might take a few of them in. But not all of them.

* * *

Team Rocket Headquarters - 1258 hours the next day

* * *

"I am not a happy man, Proton." Giovanni declared from his seat. Proton stood several feet from his desk, bruised and bloody and all of it caused by Giovanni's wunderkind nephew.

Giovanni was torn between pride in his blood or annoyance that he seemed to have a nose for destroying his operations. He settled for being pretty pissed at Proton for trying to kill Ash. The students, he could care less. Waterflower, moderately concerned for the warpath her sisters would carve through Kanto.

But if Ash had died during that skirmish, Delia Ketchum nee-Sakai would burn it to the ground like Kalos did to the Galar region over three centuries ago.

"With all due respect, the operation was still workable. One trainer-"

"Ash Ketchum is clearly a skilled commander of Pokemon and trainers if he was able to outmaneuver you, Proton. He took down Brock on his _first try_. Mostly with type-disadvantage, and destroyed our Mt. Moon op." Giovanni growled, resting his head in his right hand. "Alright. Standing orders for _everyone. _Avoid Ketchum at all costs. You see him, run. Do not engage. We'll lose less money abandoning an operation, than letting him destroy it all. Am I clear?"

Proton bit his tongue. Flee-on-sight? The last person to have that applied to them was that bitch Cynthia and she had to earn that through a LOT of blood in Johto!

Ketchum destroys two operations, one minor and one not so minor, and suddenly the boss considers him the bane of Team Rocket?! What the hell?!

"Yes, sir." Proton ground out, very simply.

"Good. Do not try anything." Giovanni warned. "I will know. Dismissed."

Proton growled in his throat, but knew better than to argue, turning on his heel and leaving the room.

"I'm surrounded by _idiots_…" Giovannni muttered.

* * *

**Route 25 - 1434 hours local time**

* * *

Ash and Misty were back on the road again, heading towards Cerulean. Squirtle filled in Ash, telling him that he had led the Squirtle squad to the League, getting them set up as a firefighting team after another incident with Team Rocket. He had assured them that he was not abandoning them when he went out after Ash, assuring them that he would find them a worthy trainer. Well, one of them followed Squirtle, which is how Misty ended up with a new capture.

"Squirt." 'S_o, we gotta stop this psycho guy. What was his name_?' Squirtle asked as he decided to stick around.

"Pika." '_Cyrus. Creepy emo bastard really screwed everything up in Sinnoh_.' Pikachu replied. "Chuuuu?" '_And I think he screwed up a lot in Unova. I mean, Ash was WAY too dumb there, making rookie mistakes and all that_.'

"Please don't remind me." Ash deadpanned. "That was embarrassing." Unova was just insulting. If Cyrus did that, for a supposedly emotionless man, he was petty as all hell.

"What are you and your Pokemon talking about?" Misty asked, getting in too close for Ash's comfort. Part of him wanted her closer-

'_STOP IT_!' Ash mentally yelled, smashing his lesser urges into the metaphorical dust. 'Y_ou are BETTER then this_!' But that dark part of his mind refused to let up. He needed a psychic-type: those could put in blocks to prevent him from turning into Brock. Or worse.

"Just how many times Team Rocket's nearly killed us." Ash lied, not very smoothly.

"Hm." Misty hmmmed as something red scuttled across their path. "Oh look, a Krabby."

A very familiar Krabby, to Ash and the two Pokemon on his shoulders. "Squir!" '_Hey, Kingler, is that you?"_

"Krab." "_In the smaller shell. About time I found you guys."_

"That's a very small Krabby." Misty noted, much to the displeasure of the crab.

Ash shrugged. "It's not the size that matters." Ash replied, pulling out a pokeball.

"Kook!" '_Thank you, Ash!' _The crustacean cheered. "By!" '_Now ball me!' _He demanded, clapping his claws rapidly.

"Pika." '_He can understand you, you know_.' the electric mouse deadpanned.

"Kooky!" '_Oh, that's great. Now he can hear me bitch about being a Arceus-damned Krabby_!' the crab said mock-cheerfully before Ash just chucked the ball at him. And thus, he teleported away to Oak's lab.

"You know, I've noticed something odd..." Misty mused, looking at where Krabby once was. Ash was not going to like this.

"Noticed what?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't think he was from the future or something. In his defense, he had dealt with much, much, MUCH weirder things then time travel. He had jumped universes once.

"Pokemon basically come up to you and _ask _to be caught. Why is that a thing with you?"

Ash shrugged. "I guess this one wanted someone who saw more than just his size. But as for the others, I don't know." Ash lied again. He'd come clean with her sometime… eventually.

* * *

**Hoenn Region - Route 111**

* * *

After breaking the news to everyone, the combined Hoenn-Sinnoh group were discussing how they were going to get through to this...hellhole. Digging was an option, but would be a bit difficult with a massive tribe of Treeko. Even if it would be cooler: the desert sun would cook them all. Except...maybe one.

"Gib..." 'So...WARM...' the land shark warbled very happily as he soaked up the rays and the warm sand.

"Cor." '_This...is new.'_ Corphish said from his little pool, made from a pit of sand filled with water that he Hydro Pumped into the hole for cooling. He was a water-type crab: he needed to get in water to avoid being on the menu. Helping the others was a side benefit.

"Tree." '_Gibles usually sleep in warm caves. For him, this is probably paradise_.' the future Sceptile said.

"Gil." '_I'm just waiting for him to start doing the sand shark thing and start chomping._' Giligar said, waiting for the dragon to do just that.

"Tree…" '_Wait a second… If Gible's there, then what's that-'_

The sand burst up as a form darted out and rocks rained around Treeko, trapping him in place.

Jaws of a much smaller sort clamped around his foot, making the reptile grimace with pain before seeing his attacker.

With small, beady eyes, massive jaws for his body size and a squat body, the creature was a Pokemon, a ground-type. One that, rather fittingly, was the same type as Gible. Or it would be.

"Inch!" '_Gotcha_!' tried the Ant Pit Pokémon before Treecko kicked him in the face. "Trap!" _Oi! No meal kicks me in the face_!'

"Tree-cko!" I! AM! NOT! YOUR! MEAL!' the geecko shouted as he kicked the Trapinch in the face with each word before the antlion let him go.

"Trap." '_That hurt._' said the not-bug before looking at Treecko. "In." '_Oh, you're a Pokemon. Sorry bout that: was hunting for animals, not anything sentient_.'

"Tree." '_It's.. okay_.' The grass-type groaned. "Ko." '_Just… get these rocks off me.'_

"Trap." '_Sorry.' _The ground-type muttered again, gripping the big rock pinning Treecko with his mouth and crushing it in his powerful jaws.

"Char!" '_Treekco, are you alright?!' _The fire-type called out, rolling up to the scene.

"Tree." '_Yeah..' _He muttered, brushing off the rock pieces. "Tree-ko." '_Just a misunderstanding with a Trapnich.'_

"Tra." '_Was hunting for non-pokemon. Even ambush hunters make mistakes_.' the antlion said, blinking his beady eyes.

"Turt?" '_Non-Pokemon? Is that even a._..' Turtwig trailed off as he felt something land on his back. '_Thing_?' It was like a Beautifly, but...smaller. A lot smaller with just compound eyes. And it wasn't talking or anything.

"Trap." '_Like one of those. Humans call it a butterfly.'_ He nudged the bug with his nose, causing it to fly off. "Nich." _They're apparently rarer than Pokemon, but I have heard that humans have massive farms of creatures that look like Tauros and Miltank but aren't pokemon."_

The group looked between each other, processing the new information. "Tree." '_Interesting. Well, thanks for your time, but we need to get going.'_

"Inch." '_Wait, what are a group of wildlings doing out here?'_ the not-bug asked.

Da-dun.

"Ra?" '_What's that_-' He never finished.

CHOMP!

The tables had turned as the antlion ended up in the jaws of the shark. "Gib!" '_We're not wild_!' Gible said happily, chomping on the ground-type. "Ble-gib-gi!" '_We're caught! And we're on our way to get to our trainer_!'

"Trap…" '_Okay, okay. Could you put me down now?"_

"Gib." '_Sure thing." _He gave the Trapnich one last chomp, then released it.

"Inch." '_Thank you. Well, if you aren't wild then where's your trainer?'_

Turtwig looked to the others. "Twig." '_Do you think we should just come clean and tell him?"_

"Char." 'Might as well.' Chimchar said. "Chim-cha-char." '_What do you know about the Time Travel Pokemon_?'

"Inch." '_I've seen Celebi once when I was near Regirock's Cavern_.' the Ant Lion said, much to the shock of the caught Pokemon. "Trapin." '_What? Surprised I know where a legendary is? It's local knowledge. Regirock's in a cave just up north. Anyway, why mention Celebi? Does she have anything to do with this?_'

"Chimmmm…" '_Well… you see… we're kinda from an alternate future.' _The fire ape scratched the back of his head. "Char." '_We got sent back after a universe ending apocalypse involving the creation trio, alongside our trainer.'_

"Tirt." '_Our trainer's kind of important to the gods. Don't ask me why, that's another story. But Arceus had Celebi send him and us back in time to stop the apocalypse.'_

"Treek." '_We ended up where we started in life, but we're not going to sit around a wait for him to come to us, so we're traveling to Kanto to meet up with him."_

The Trapinch blinked his beady eyes. "In..." '_This is hard to believe_...' he said.

"Gible." '_Everything's all messed up. Like those angry evil Pokemo_n." he said before they heard an angry buzzing. Angry...and dragonic.

"Inch!" '_Oh, swett Arceus no_!' the antlion cried before they came face to face with a massive dragon-type. Not only a dragon, but a ground-type dragon.

"Gible!" '_Like that_!' he said, pointing at the corrupted Flygon. "Inch!" '_RUN, DAMN IT_!' the not-bug cried as he dug into the ground. But the land shark would have none of that.

"Giiiii..." Gible wordlessly growled as he gathered energy into his massive maw. Flygon was a dragon. And dragons were easily hurt by dragons. And Gible knew the best way to hurt the Shadow Flygon. "BLE!" With a ball of dragon energy that usually found its mark on Piplup's head.

"Fly!?" '_What the f-' _The ball of draconic energy slammed the Flygon in the face, sending it crashing to the sand, missing an ear.

"Gib!" '_Come here you big meanie!' _The little dragon shouted, charging into the dirt.

"Gon!" '_No, no, stay away, stay away!" _The Flygon picked itself up and started flapping its wings, but too little, too late.

Gible burst from the sand, another Draco Meteor flying from his mouth to slam against it's back, sending the dragon/ground to the sand yet again, giving Gible plenty of time to do what Gibles did best.

CHOMP!

Gible's mouth closed on the Flygon's wing, biting harder then he would normally, for this was not a friend. This was a mindless killing machine, corrupted beyond hope, not that Gible knew this. All he cared about was that this Flygon was a threat to his family. And all threats had to be eliminated.

And with one disabled wing, the Flygon wasn't flying far, going into a shallow dive. Straight into a rock.

Gible let go, using his 'horns' like jet engines, steering him to soft sand. The Flygon, though...

THUD

Wasn't getting back up.

Gible dove into the sand, going deep enough to hide even his fin. At least until he started moving, the fin cutting through the hot sand like water.

"Trapinch!" '_Holy shit! Gible just wrecked that Flygon!"_

Da-nun.

The ground-type realized what was coming. But like his corrupted evolution, he was too late.

CHOMP!

But unlike his evolution, Gible was far nicer. "Gib." '_That was fun.' _

FUN?! He nearly killed a Shadow Pokemon and...well, Gible WAS one of Ash's team. They were all a little warped in the head.

"Inch. Trap-Inch." '_Can I join you guys? Your trainer must be something else, and I want to become a Flygon too.'_

"Chim." '_Well, we've already picked up a few more. Ash certainly won't say no to anyone." _The starter smiled. "Char." '_Welcome aboard.'_

"Trap." '_Cool.' _The not-bug blinked. "Inch." '_Now can you put me down?'_

Gible released the future dragon from his maw. "Gib!" '_We need to get to Kanto. That's where Ash is_!' he said.

"Inch." '_Digging there is out of the question. Even though Kanto's close, there's an ocean between us and there_.' the antlion said. "Tra." '_And we don't have a rock-type to reinforce the tunnel if we did. Getting crushed by an ocean's worth of water pressure isn't on my to-do list_.'

Sinnoh was close enough to tunnel to. Kanto was too far.

"Cha." '_We're heading for Lilycove. But the desert will cook most of us alive before we get there_.' the monkey said.

"Inch." '_Lucky for you, I know the desert's secrets. I'll get you to Lilycove_.'

* * *

**RMS **_**Germanic**_ **\- 48 minutes out of Brest, Kalos - 0905 hours Local Time**

* * *

Eevee darted out of the way of a weak Dragonbreath and charged back in, her body glowing as her speed accelerated into a Quick Attack, and bounced into Goomy's side, not doing any real damage to the dragon.

"Goom!" '_Nice hit!' _Goomy praised, even as he let off another pair of Dragonbreath, trying to pin down the faster pokemon.

"Eve!" '_Thanks!' _The Evolution pokemon accepted the praise even as she used another Quick Attack to dodge the attacks. "Vee!" '_This is fun!'_

Goomy was the ultimate punching bag. He accepted it. But he was not a passive punching bag. He fired back, taking the hits Eevee dealt out and returning them with dragonfire. All to make sure Eevee evolved.

That being said, there was a complication.

"Oh, it's you again!" came the very unwelcome voice of Bonnie Cetron as she sighted them and ran over. Eevee might not have been a true battle Pokemon, but being forcibly cuddled all the time by a young girl? Screw that: Serena at least gave her space when she prompted.

"Bonnie! Damn it, I told you not to do that to other people's Pokemon!" cried her older, more sensible-but incredibly prone to blowing his ass up-brother as he struggled to catch up with her. "That Goomy nearly burned you last-" he trailed off as he noticed aforementioned Goomy, looking INSANELY pissed. Which is not a look you want from a Pokemon known to be super-friendly.

Goomy had a grudge: sue him. He thought Pikachu was weird at first and didn't say a thing, reserving judgement until he knew him better. More than he could say for the lemon-head.

"What's going on?" asked Eevee's trainer and - if the Kalos crew had their way - Ash's mate as she came up from below.

"Eve!" '_Oh thank Arceus!' _The brown normal type sighed as she saw her trainer. "Vee!" '_Serena, a little help here!'_

"Oh there you are Eevee." Serena smiled, hearing her Pokemon's cries, and the girl harassing her. "Hello there. Could you give my Eevee back?"

"Oh, this is your Eevee?" Bonnie said somewhat sheepishly before Goomy prepared for Bonnie's annoying question. "I hope you evolve it to Jolteon-" "Goomy." '_Here this stupid brat goes_...' the dragon moaned. "When you marry my brother!"

Silence reigned. And Goomy could see Serena's eyes, which were friendly, suddenly turn into something so...ENRAGED. Like asking that question was heresy or something. To the Kalosian crew, it kinda WAS, but Serena looked halfway ready to throttle Bonnie.

Goomy half-hoped she would. He had a grudge.

"Bonnie!" Clemont snapped, glaring at his younger sister. He sighed, turing back to Serena. "I'm sorry for my sister. She has a tendency to go about and ask perfect strangers to 'look after me.' "

Serena blinked, and the murderous look was gone and the smile was back. Goomy sighed. It looked like Bonnie would survive the day.

Bonnie's bag twitched, and the flap opened to reveal her perpetual companion. "Deden." '_Oh great, is she harassing girls again?' _the Kalosian 'Pikachu clone' asked.

"Come on, brother, she's perfect!" Bonnie exclaimed. "She's even got an Eevee she can evolve into Jolteon!"

"Young lady." Serena said, cold and on the knife's edge of grabbing her and throwing her overboard. "I am not only _not interested_ in your brother, I am also betrothed to the new Crown Prince of Rota." Every word that came out of her mouth got more and more angry. "I also do not want to evolve my Eevee to a Jolteon. She's shown me she wants to be a Sylveon."

"But...Come on! This Prince guy can't-" Bonnie tried to convince Serena, but dragonfire burned her leg, followed by an electrical shock. Goomy had zero patience with her. "Goo." '_Leave my trainer's mate alone_.' he warned.

Clemont coughed into his hand. "Bonnie, when _Pokemon_ that don't know you are telling you to stop, I think you should _stop_."

The girl blinked, then nodded, backing away from the older girl and Goomy glaring her down.

"I'm sorry, I keep trying to get her to stop, but she doesn't listen." Suddenly, the light hit his glasses, giving him an inventive gleam. "In fact, I might have an idea for that."

Goomy had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

20 minutes later, he was right.

He was affixed to the back of Bonnie, gently held in a harness that pointed him directly at her. And it served the purpose of directing his attacks on her.

While he couldn't kill her (not only would Ash hate him, Bonnie was not worth it) it WOULD hurt. A lot.

"I call it the Pavolian Goominator!" Clemont declared with a raised hand.

"Goo." '_...Really? Really_.' Goomy deadpanned.

Serena had a conflicted, neutral expression on her face. "I'm… not sure how to feel about this. On one hand, that Goomy's meant for my betrothed, but at the same time…"

"Not to worry, this is only a temporary measure!" Clemont assured them. "But for now, your Goomy will do, seeing how much he dislikes Bonnie. If she asks any girl to marry me, Dragonbreath."

"Can't you just… pull her away?" Serena asked.

"You don't think I've been DOING that?" Clemont retorted, resignation sounding off. "She won't get it! I even made a mechanical arm to pull her away, but still she tries! So, I'm going for the Pavlov method!"

"Fro." '_Pavlov? Wasn't he some psychologist from Albmia Ash read about to find ways to condition himself_?' Froakie asked, knowing Ash liked to find new ways to avoid getting together with his mate. With extreme success, no less.

"Uh..." Serena started.

"Oh, he was a psychologist. Ring a bell, the Rockruff comes for food, that sort of thing." Clemont said, waving it off. "In this case, I'm associating her asking someone to marry me with pain." Clemont seemed to be enjoying this a tad bit too much. But after countless people being asked, not to mention those people yelling at Clemont, he was bound to enjoy his sister suffering a bit.

"Clemont…" Bonnie whined. "Do you have to do this?"

The future Gym Leader sighed. "Bonnie, I love you, but you're starting to annoy me, and you already annoy everyone we meet by asking the girls to marry me… when I repeatedly tell you I am not interested. This is the last straw. If _this _doesn't get you to stop, I don't know what _will!"_

"Goom." '_Well, I have to admit, the idea does make sense.' _He growled, wriggling in the harness. "Goo-my!" '_Doesn't mean I have to like it! Get me out of this thing!'._

Bonnie held up her bag. "I can use Dedenne as a shield! Goomy's a dragon-"

"A dragon that knows electrical attacks and potentially poison." Clemont said, much to Bonnie's horror. Dedenne was a fairy-type. The only fairies immune to poison had a secondary steel-typing. Which wouldn't do them any good anyway if they knew something like Brick Break or Flamethrower.

"Goo." '_Oh, but I DO know poison._' Goomy said almost evilly. Sludge Wave was a pain to learn, but it was worth learning. After all, only Mawile and Klefki had steel-typing and again, weak to fighting and fire. And Goomy, as Goodra, could learn it. And he had the basics down: he just needed someone to demonstrate it. Like that Charizard he heard so much about.

"So what's up with the Dedenne?" Serena asked. "Why can't you use him?"

"Well, he's technically mine, but he doesn't listen to me." Clemont leaned in close. "Between you and me, I've been thinking about getting a Voltorb. That knows Self Destruct."

Serena grinned. "You're evil."

"My sister's been a source of headaches since I turned 13." Clemont said, the unsaid 'and old enough to marry' not going unnoticed.

Eevee told him that Kalosian law allowed marriage at 13 years, a holdover from the first Kingdom of Kalos that no one bothered getting rid of. Which explained why Serena was engaged to Ash now.

"I do apologize to your bethrothed's Pokemon, my lady." Clemont said, honestly ashamed.

Goomy didn't care, blasting Clemont in the face with dragon fire.

* * *

Kanto Route 24, just north of 'Nugget Bridge' - 2035 hours local time

* * *

Ash could tell Misty was getting nervous with each step towards Cerulean He knew she had problems with the city and her crippling loneliness. That and the fact that two Ghost-types raped her mind. The city brought back unpleasant memories.

And they were coming up on the Nugget Bridge, which would lead into Cerulean. By the time they got to the Bridge, Misty would be a nervous wreck.

"You OK?" Ash asked, knowing he was probably fueling her attraction to him. In the last timeline, he saw it was his zeal, his seemingly unlimited energy, unstoppable will and boundless kindness that started to attract her to him. Sadly, he couldn't stop being himself. And now it was happening again. Good thing he knew how to stop himself.

"I...I don't want to go to Cerulean." Misty admitted. "My sisters...they'll make me stay. I CAN'T stay. I need to keep going."

'_If I had my way, you'd stay in Cerulean and take over that gym_.' Ash thought selfishly. But he knew better. "Well, there's another badge down in Vermillion." he reasoned.

"Pfft. Surge has a three badge limit." she spat. "Tired of facing new trainers thinking they can beat him with a Pidgey. And the closest gym other then Cerulean with a no-badge limit is Celedon."

Ash figured. "But if you don't want to-" he started before Misty shook her head. "No, I'll go. I'll have to fight to stay, but I'll go." she said.

Ash knew that it was because of him, but couldn't bring himself to mention it. And he wasn't the only one to notice.

"Kya." '_That girl is head over heels for that boy.' _Starmie noticed. "Kya." '_He just speaks to her and she calms down.' _If she could smile, she would. "Kyakya." '_Hey, brother. Think we could get them together?'_

"Hup!" '_She's acting like her old self again. If getting them together fixes her, I am all for it_.' Staryu replied. "Hu." '_But he's resistant. He wants to, but...doesn't._'

"Hya." '_Yes. I can feel it_.' the water/psychic replied. '_We'll work on it. It will be slow going, but we will help our trainer_.'

Whether the male trainer liked it or not, Misty's pokemon plotted against him.

* * *

Entry 12: Animals

While Pokemon are common and numerically the dominant type of species on our world, there are a number of non-sentient species commonly referred to as 'animals'.

While somewhat resembling Pokemon, they cannot be stored in a pokeball, have instinctual intelligence only and in some cases, do not lay eggs.

Scientists have asked for centuries why creatures like these exist, but religious figures simply chalk it up to Arceus' will. Regardless of how they came to be, they are rare and in many cases endangered. Cattle are protected for meat production, as eating Pokemon dishes is considered akin to cannibalism. Most terrestrial animals are extinct due to Pokemon and human actions, save those of the insect superfamily and rodents.

Animals are more common in the oceans, with fish being seen in massive numbers offshore. The most dangerous of these is _Carcharodon carcharias_, also known as the great white shark, which is known to attack Wailmer. The great white also lends its name to Sharpedo and to a lesser extent the Garchomp evolutionary line, notably Gible and Gabite, which have the title 'land sharks' for their dorsal fins, much like the great white shark.

* * *

Entry 13: the Fall of the United Region of Nihon

The regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh were once one unified country known as 'Nihon', with its' capital in Ecruteak City in Johto Province. Nihon was unified only twice before the modern era, falling into feudalism and warlord rule for centuries at a time prior to the invention of the Pokeball in Johto's Azalea Town, though depictions of the Pokeball have been around since the Damos Era, the first being in the Sinnoh region.

With the Pokeball, Johto slowly conquered the rest of the area, founding the Nihon Empire which only lasted 300 years before the rise of the United Region. But the URN only had 200 years of life before the Cipher War began. Shadow Pokemon were used in massive numbers to ruin lines of communication, destroy government facilities and bring the nation to its knees. The shadow Pokemon rebellion saved the people of Nihon, but not their country. Without a central government, most nearly returned to feudalism until Samuel Oak destroyed a number of would-be warlords with the aid of his mentor. But the regions were divided, still.

Lance Wataru of Blackthorn finished Oak's work of unifying most of Kanto, in spite of interference from Team Rocket and local government. His goal is the reunification of Nihon. But with Teams Aqua and Magma raising hell in Hoenn and Galactic searching for something in Sinnoh, it is not likely to succeed without aid.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Well, that explains a lot. And Ash is resisting. Not entirely succeeding, but he's resisting. The big problem with the harem genre is how to deal with the male protagonist: most treat them like leches and perverts or simply obvious. Ash is neither, yet both: well aware of his attraction, but trying to push it aside and be a nice guy. Sadly, he's only dumping fuel on the fire.**

**Redemption's Avenger: Thing is, he's been pushing down on it for two lifetimes. Well, one and a half, but that means that he's got a lot of repressed sexual tension. It ain't gonna end well.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Then again, it is understandable, given that he doesn't want to be a deadbeat Dad. Not realizing that ALL of his potential girls would willingly join him in his travels and follow him in a charge on the gates of hell if need be.**

**Ron the True Fan: As they make their way to heaven, through Galactic lines-(WHACK!) Oh, come on, it's Sabaton!**

**Takeshi Yamato: Still getting whacked, dragging me along on this! (Turns to a side) Remember, don't kill him, but feel free to rough him up a bit.**

**Thor: A reasonable arrangement, mortal.**

**Ron the True Fan: Aww, f-(MJOL-WHACK!)**


	10. Chapter 9: Pool Time

**Ron the True Fan: Second badge time. …I hate valley girl talk. It grates on my ears and makes me…well, type 'black templars TTS' into YouTube's search and you'll find the answer. Fortunately, my loathing of such things can be sated easily by making the 'valley girl' NOT stereotypically **_**stupid**_**.**

**Takeshi: As such, we will be making the valley girl act of Misty's older sisters just that. An act. (Turns to Thor) thanks again for helping keep this guy in line.**

**Thor: Do not worry about it, Mortal.**

**Ron the True Fan: At least he can't KILL me. Otherwise, a lot of fics would never get done.**

* * *

**Cerulean City Northern Entrance - 2058 hours local time - Day 12 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

While Ash would have liked to go straight to the gym, it was very late in the day. His Pokemon had exhausted themselves with training earlier and while Pokemon recovered very quickly (Pokeballs helped, for the most part) they needed to rest before the big day tomorrow.

Last time, the TRio made a nuisance of themselves, forcing Ash to deal with them to earn the badge. While he did not complain at the time, looking back, it stung at his pride. Logically, he knew he shouldn't care, that he was a new trainer at the time. But logic meant nothing to pride. Just ask Charizard and Sceptile.

But, contrary to popular belief, Ash was not stupid. Thus, his Pokemon were going to sleep. And so was he. And… so was Misty. In the same room as him.

Wearing barely anything, though enough to keep herself somewhat decent. And unintentionally tormenting Ash.

'Do not look, do not think, just GO TO SLEEP, Ketchum!' Ash ranted at himself, laying facedown on a pillow to prevent looking at her, even if she was…on the bed above him. It took everything Ash had to not slam his head into the nearest wall as hard as he could. Or to look at the _very _beautiful young woman on the bunk-

With that, Ash decided to just scream into the pillow.

No, by that point, it'd be perving. And he would not be doing that. Ever. Even if she did look good-

He started to interrupt his thoughts again when a sleepy Pikachu interrupted his interruption. "Pika." '_Stop it. I can hear you thinking over here, and I'm trying to sleep. Agonise over your lack of a love life later. I'll help you out _after _I get some sleep.'_

Ash sighed. Of all his team members, Pikachu _would _give him crap for trying not to look for a 'mate'.

And seek to… recitify the situation. Multiple times over, if he had his way. With that, Ash just slammed his head into the wall to knock himself out

* * *

**RMS Germanic - 58 hours, 21 minutes into Kalos-Kanto journey - 1028 hours local time**

* * *

Goomy did not like being on Bonnie's back. But he decided to make the most of it.

After all, it was good practice for converting the weak electrical jolts into a pure Thunderbolt AND Bonnie got what was coming to her for all the marriage requests.

No one said he couldn't take full advantage of the situation.

Goomy could tell it was getting to the point where Bonnie could take no more. She was beginning to flinch even as she went up to ask someone, and sometimes she would stop mid-sentence and look back at Goomy fearfully, who'd just look back and crackle menacingly with electricity.

Yes, they'd get looks and even questions, but Bonnie was too nervous and embarrassed to answer them and Goomy would do his best approximation of a shrug.

"And how are you doing today?" asked the one responsible for this entire situation, both Bonnie and Goomy sharing a dislike of Clemont at the moment.

"I'm getting electrocuted now." Bonnie said dourly. "First it was dragonfire, now I'm getting zapped!"

"Well, until you stop asking people to marry me, Goomy's staying there until Lady Serena leaves the ship. And she's going to Kanto, same as us, so…" Clemont trailed off.

"But… You NEED someone to take care of you! I've seen you in your workshop, working and working and working! No sleep, no food, nothing!" Bonnie retorted.

"Goo." '_Fair point, but your brother's not as stupid as we like to think he is_.' Goomy said, knowing he couldn't be heard and mocking Clemont for his… large amount of failures with machinery.

Just because he was improving did not mean they wanted to be near him when everything inevitably exploded in his face. It also didn't mean he constantly worked on his 'inventions'.

Honestly, they'd just rather stay away from the pair.

"Bonnie, I don't need someone to look after me, you do. I can't always be looking after you, and having you near my work is dangerous." Clemont sighed. "I will find a girlfriend _on my own time. _I don't need my nine year old sister playing matchmaker."

Goomy took a small amount of pleasure from Clemont FINALLY putting his sister in her place. "But… you keep working-" she tried to say before Clemont glared at her.

"I keep working on my robotics projects so I can have more time later to help dad and spend more time with you." Clemont said, not happy at all. "So, while I am happy you care, I need you to stop bothering people who will be asking me why my sister is asking them to 'take care of me'. You have no idea how many times Dad's had to explain that to avoid lawsuits being charged against us!"

THAT finally shut Bonnie up. Goomy decided to rub it in by zapping her once more.

* * *

Most people would expect someone 'playing superhero' to have their secret headquarters in a cave, or an underwater fortress, or even some kind of grand tower.

And while Kyril was certainly _**wealthy**_ enough to have a grand tower built, he didn't really have a location in mind in which to build it, yet - most of the Regions already had giant towers.

Kanto had the Silph building in Saffron, and the Pokemon Tower in Lavender. Johto had that lighthouse in Olivine and the Radio Tower in Goldenrod.

Hoenn was more water than land, meaning he couldn't do anything there without it sinking, (grand size meant weight and weight in a region dominated by swampland, beachfront and plain old water was bad for buildings) no one in their right mind wanted to try and make anything close to the grandeur of Spire Pillar in Sinnoh, Unova was still a mess, making it impossible for anything big to get done and Kalos had Lumiose Tower.

Alola, he had no presence at all, embargos being what they were and Galar was old-style for almost everything.

But Pernon decided that, in lieu of big towers, being mobile was good enough. And he did have five ocean liners. So, he had a lead-lined room built into the reactors of every ship to serve as his mobile base on the water. No one besides the reactor techs went anywhere near the rooms and they assumed it was just water reclamation for the reactors.

Instead, they served as labs, the reactors powering all sorts of machines to allow him to work on upgrades for the Marauder Armor, as well as communications equipment to keep him in touch with all his contacts.

And right now, it was about time he put the fear of his alter ego back into the Rockets, and so he was catching up on the latest info on what was essentially a militarized yakuza.

"Huh." he said, sipping on some wine (a necessary evil, given both the ship and the massive pile of uranium he was only three inches of lead away from sitting on) as he read a police report on an operation inside Mount Moon being destroyed by two trainers and the local Clefairy population. "That's damaging."

"For who, your reputation or Team Rocket?" Rin asked as she organized more reports. "You were planning on obliterating that one, right?"

"Well, yeah," he admitted with a sigh. "Still, I guess if some of the local trainers are doing their own anti-Rocket ops, it makes my job a bit easier. Just means I can save my firepower for the harder targets."

"There was a freaking Admin there, according to these!" she retorted.

"If we could fly, then I would have ended that Admin for good." Kyril said with a sigh.

Aviation had… suffered since the War. Most of the companies were absorbed into his corporation, but with no production and maintenance facilities, a lack of oil for aviation fuel (and a lack of anyone wanting to use alternative sources for 'biofuel') and the ruin of just about everything, it was safe to say air travel was dead, save by flying-type.

What made everything worse was the existence of such facilities that were intact. There was just one problem.

They weren't in the former Unified Region of Nihon, but in the hellish Orre region, surrounded by deserts and Shadow Pokemon. And no one on the planet that lived outside that damned region would be stupid enough to go there.

But if someone DID go, he'd be on their coattails, ready to take those airplanes and put them to work. The world was slowly going back to normal, Kanto was unified, Johto was soon to follow, Hoenn and Sinnoh were still fractured but healing. Once Nihon was reunified, Unova and Kalos could fully repair the damage done to them by the War.

And Pernon's new airlines would aid in this. Because while cargo ships were never going to be replaced, planes were the fastest way to travel.

And if Pernon earned a pretty penny while saving the world, he wasn't going to complain.

* * *

**Cerulean City Gym - 1059 hours the next day**

* * *

Ash had mostly decided on using fire against fire for this match. Krabby had been working out at the Ranch and via an Oak call, asked to be brought in. Apparently, he knew Metal Claw, likely from Pikachu's demos during the brief visits back to Pallet.

Charmander also wanted in and he was not taking no for an answer, type or not. Ash had mentioned it.

He nearly got torched for his troubles. The little guy wanted to evolve and nothing, not even a water gym, was going to stop him.

From what he understood, the Gym Leader would be using three Pokemon, while he could use a full team, which again, he didn't understand that rule, but he'd play it honestly. If Charmander didn't wipe the rest of the Leader's team, he'd send in Pikachu.

And now, he was meeting Misty's sisters for the first time for the second time.

The eldest sister (he was judging by height, which wasn't exactly the most accurate way) stopped talking to the others, looking at Ash before their eyes landed on Misty.

"Misty! Damn it, where have you been?" the older(?) sister said as she ran along the sides of the pool before crushing Misty with a hug.

"Love you too, Daisy." Misty croaked out. That answered that question, at least, as Daisy Waterflower let go of Misty. "You worried us." she said, resisting the urge to cry. "We heard what happened near Pallet Town: we don't even know how you got out of there!"

"Uh, that's…my doing." Ash said, Daisy looking at the black-haired young man from Pallet. And looking none too happy.

'Oh, good, a way to get Misty to stay HERE and not have her follow me into the mouth of hell for the next two years.' he thought to himself. If Daisy thought he was being ungentlemanly, she'd force Misty to stay at the gym. It was a weak plan and even Ash knew it, but he WAS trying.

Daisy gave Ash a once over. Being an elder sibling, she could see that both Ash and Misty had some sort of attachment that went a bit beyond friendship, he was attracted to her, but judging by the fact he was trying to distance himself, he was wary of getting too close.

He wasn't succeeding, but he was trying to respect her decision, maybe even find her someone that wasn't him to fall for.

"And you are?" Daisy asked.

"Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town." he said, rubbing the back of his head. "I came here for a badge. And… well, if Misty wants to stay-" Misty glared at him for saying that. THAT was new. She hadn't done anything like that since… the incident.

Daisy raised an eyebrow at the both of them. From the way Misty was acting, she wasn't going anywhere except this boy's side, but he didn't want her there. Strange.

"Well, if you came for a battle, I can give you one. Follow me." Daisy turned, leading the two towards the gym battleground. "You'll have to tell me how you met Ash, Misty."

"Well, it involved Spearows…" Ash said sheepishly as Pikachu grinned. Ah, dealing with the in-laws.

* * *

After a few minutes, Misty had taken a seat, but not before letting her Pokemon out to meet the others in the gym.

This also gave them an excuse to do something: pick up Misty's Pokemon she left here. While she only took Staryu and Starmie with her, Psyduck being caught after she left, she had a rather…large number. A Poliwag that was training to be a Politoed whenever Misty got a Rock Crown, a Gyarados she raised from a Magikarp, a Corsola, a Goldeen… You've seen the anime, you know what she has. (WHACK!)

Misty had wanted a Marill and when she was a baby, a Togepi, but neither were ever available. No one wanted to part with them and they were rare in Kanto. Johto and Hoenn, their somewhat native regions were another story, being more common, though Togepi was still a rare sight.

Regardless, it was time to bring them along. They deserved to meet Misty's mate, Gyarados especially. If the Atrocious Pokémon approved of him, that would be the end of it.

Around this time of day, the Waterflower sisters let out Misty's Pokémon in one of the Gym's massive pools to play and do some of their own training, which was the perfect time to talk to them and convince them to come along.

"Raaaaar!" '_Well look who's back!' _Gyarados noticed them first, breaching the surface and sending water everywhere.

They appreciated the water splash. Except for Psyduck, who was dragged into the pool.

"PSY!" '_HELP! I CAN'T SWIM_!' the duck quacked.

Another Psyduck and a Golduck, who could swim and actually were, facepalmed. Or facepalmed to the best of their ability in the case of the yellow duck.

"Gol." '_What an embarrassment._' the Golduck said before swimming off.

"Hya." '_Ignoring the embarrassment to all water-types for five minutes…_' Staryu said, returning to the subject. 'Misty now has a mate.'

Everyone perked up at that news, especially Gyarados. "Radoooos!" '_Hohohoho? Our little waterflower went out and managed to find someone? Well well well.' _The massive dragon/water type gave a dangerous chuckle. "Gyarrrr." '_He better be a good one.'_

"Golduck." '_I might think so, for Misty to latch onto someone like that.' _The evolved water duck commented.

"Psy." '_Then again, she has needed some human contact in her life.'_

"PSY!" '_HELP!'_ cried Misty's duck, Gyarados rolling his eyes before smacking the duck out of the pool… and into a wall. At the very least, it shut him up.

"Hors?" '_So… why tell us?_' Horsea asked, the little one actually curious as to why. If Misty's mate wanted to meet them, he would come in.

"Hiya!" '_He's going to the other gyms. And for some reason, he's trying not to get attached._' Starmie said. '_Doesn't make sense: any other male would do anything to get close to her._' Their experience, sadly, was watching other human couples and soap operas when they were at the gym. Not exactly accurate.

"Hyup!" '_So grab your Pokeballs: we'll carry you to them!_' Staryu said. Gyarados grinned. "Gya!" '_Save me for last. I want to… take his measure._'

* * *

"The match between Gym Leader Daisy Waterflower and challenger Ash Ketchum shall begin!" The ref, Misty's somewhat older sister Violet, declared "The Gym leader shall use her two badge team of three Pokemon, while the challenger may use six. Are you ready?"

"Good to go." Daisy smirked, palming a ball.

"Ready!" Ash smiled.

"Begin!"

"Spheal, you're up!"

"Spheal! Spheal!" '_About time!_' the round seel pokemon

"Krabby, let's go!" Ash declared, releasing his trusty crustaton water-type.

"Kook." '_I am here to kick your round ass._' the crab said. The ball seel took exception to that.

"Spheal!" '_You little red-_' "Spheal, Body Slam!" Daisy ordered, Spheal grinning before executing a brief Rollout to speed up and jump into the air.

"Krabby, evasive action!" Ash ordered as Krabby used his legs to maximum effect to jump to another platform in the pool, avoiding Spheal's blow. "Kooky." '_Learn to aim._' Krabby taunted.

Spheal roared and began repeating the same thing, only for Krabby to jump and make what Ash assumed were rude gestures with his claws. Spheal certainly acted like they were.

"…How long have you had that Krabby?" Daisy asked as Krabby continued evading and… really, Ash had no idea what the clacking claws meant. "Uh… I caught him outside Cerulean." Ash answered honestly.

"That makes no sense!" Daisy yelled. "That's a trained Krabby! I've, like, well, done the same thing with some of the Krabbys here at the gym and that took months if not years to pull off!"

"Kook." '_You could say that_.' Krabby said with another clack-clack of the pincers.

"Pheal!" '_Stay still!'_

"Spheal, get him with Aurora Beam!" Daisy shouted, getting fed up with the Krabby's obviously cocky attitude.

"Dodge and hit him with Metal Claw!" Ash commanded, Krabby jumping into the air to dodge before smacking the water/ice-type with a metal-covered pincer, leaving a nasty mark.

"Rollout!" Daisy ordered, Whitney's signature move (and overused, in Ash's opinion, because it wasn't fair to a challenger with only male Pokemon and the bloody thing knew Attract) spinning up just as Krabby was jumping away, unable to change directions.

And while it was a rock-type move used by a water-type on another water-type, really, that wasn't the deciding factor. Krabby was light. Spheal was not, which resulted in a crab slamming into the poolside, cracking it and knocking him out.

"Krabby is unable to battle!" Violet declared.

Ash smiled, returning Krabby to his ball. "You did good."

Daisy sighed. "I'll admit that Krabby was very good for a recent capture, but you got lucky there."

Ash couldn't help but smirk. "Let's prove her wrong, Charmander!" He replied, releasing his first fire-type.

Who was very excited to be out, releasing an happy(?) cackle at the sight of the water-type. "Char-mander." '_I am going to enjoy this.' _He declared, his eyes taking on an evil glint that sent shivers down Daisy and her Pokemon's spines.

With that, recommend playing Sabaton's Firestorm as this is not going to be fun for the water-types. (WHACK!)

Charmander quickly used Metal Claw and charged at the ball-like pokemon, slashing wildly as the water-type went into the pool.

That was not stopping Charmander, who dove in after him, much to the horror of all. They all knew the tales: Charmanders and their tailfires MUST remain lit or they die.

Instead, Spheal tried escaping the pool… with Charmander still attached to his hide, snarling and biting.

"What the hell?! I thought-" Daisy said as Charmander the seemingly invincible lizard tossed the seal pokemon into a far wall, making a large crater. "Well, that's GREAT. Good thing we have a water/rock-type or two…"

Ash finally noticed something wrong about Daisy. Maybe it was the changes in the timeline, but… she wasn't talking like one of those 'valley girls' he once saw on TV with his mom.

"Uh, just noticed. You're not saying 'like' every other word." Ash said to take her mind off it and answer why she seemed so… off.

"Oh, yeah, forgot to do that act." she said, facepalming and laughing. "Yeah, I'm not _that _ditzy. I put up that act for the more dumb trainers. You're better than them."

'_Once, apparently, I _wasn't.' Ash thought bitterly, scowling. His first Kanto journey was becoming more and more disappointing by the moment.

"Well, let's see how your little fire maniac will handle this. Poliwrath, go!" the eldest sister said, tossing out a pokeball that released the blue fighting toad.

"Wrath!" '_You want to go, little lizard?' _

"Charmander!" '_Bring it on!' _Charmander looked back to Ash, grinning fiercely. "Mander!" '_Let me handle this, Ash._'

Ash couldn't help a smile. "Go nuts."

"Char-MANDER!" "_HahahaAHAHA_!" The lizard's claws shone with another Metal Claw even as he opened his mouth to let loose a nearly-perfected Flamethrower into the water section of the field, throwing up a massive steam smokescreen. There were sounds of combat, mostly Charmander using his teeth and claws to make Poliwrath scream in pain, but they couldn't see a damn thing.

"One of these days, I'll invest in better ventilation for this!" Daisy yelled, unable to see the fight before Poliwraith jumped into the air, looking like Charmander was trying to claw his eyes out, before firing off a Hydro Pump into the cloud, a perfected flamethrower meeting it head on as more steam was generated.

Ash was getting tired of this. "Mind if I let out my Pidgeotto to clear the air?"

"As long as you don't provide assistance!" Violet said, allowing it.

Before Ash could, Charmander jumped at the water/fighting-type, but…

A single long horn, larger body and red scales. Charmander evolved. And was PISSED. "CHAR!" '_I'M TAKING YOU DOWN!_' the newly evolved Charmeleon roared.

Poliwrath, despite looking a little worse for wear, was chomping at the bit, like any self respecting fighting type would. "Poliwrath!" '_Bring it on!' _He shouted, hand glowing with a Brick Break.

Charmeleon roared, claws glowing again, this time not with a metallic sheen, but with draconic energy, Dragon claw meeting the rock breaking move head on, striking with such force that it blew away the rest of the steam.

The fire type let loose a wordless roar as his tail took on a metallic sheen, spinning around to sweep out Poliwrath's legs, tripping him up and immediately following up with another Dragon Claw, aiming to pin the water type to the ground, only tear up the plastic and metal platform as the Pokemon rolled out of the way.

Charmeleon was going to win. That evolution would tire him out for now, but the infinity energy left over from his transformation would defeat the fighting toad, who was too battered. In fact, Poliwraith was only standing because his foot was caught in a hole.

"Poliwraith is in no shape for battle!" Ash said, noticing the fact he was dead on his feet. "Look at him!"

"I'm not Giovanni, Ash." Daisy said, shuddering at that name.

Being better than Giovanni was an easy thing to do. You just had to not be the leader of Team Rocket and treat your pokemon like comrades, not tools to abuse. Seriously, was that Persian the only thing he cared about?

"That's enough, Poliwrath." Daisy called out, raising his pokeball. "Return!"

"Poli." '_Thank Arceus._' The fighting/water type muttered, starting to fall forward, only for the return beam to catch him and pull him to safety.

"Poliwrath has been returned! The round goes to Charmeleon and Ash Ketchum!"

The fire-type roared his victory, sending out another Flamethrower into the air.

"You good to keep going Charmeleon?" Ash asked, smiling at his fire-type's antics.

The second evolution looked back and grinned at Ash, sending a playful scattering of flames his trainer's way.

"Your Charmeleon's not obeying you." Daisy noted. Charmeleon glared at her and fired something more dangerous at her. The elder Waterflower dodged the torrent of flames, which actually torched her hair, some strands turning a nice charred black.

"You ruined my hair." she growled. "Seadra!" she tossed out the pokeball containing the seahorse, who glared at Charmeleon.

"Charmeleon!" '_Bring it, sea dragon!' _The fire lizard roared, tail thumping against the floor in challenge.

"Dra…" '_You asked for it.'_

"Hydro Pump, Seadra!" Daisy called out, and the evolved seahorse let loose a deadly torrent of water.

"Block it!" Ash called.

Chameleon grinned as his claws glowed with the power of a Dragon Claw. Reaching out, he met the Hydro Pump head on, angling his claws so the water split around him, even as it steadily pushed him back towards Ash.

While the dragon-type energy was dulling it, Charmeleon wasn't a dragon. Yet: mega evolution was a thing. But for now, Charmeleon had to deal with defeat, but he was defiant, throwing fire at the second evolutionary stage of Horsea. The stream of fire hit, but the flaming lizard left the pool, nearly hitting Ash and definitely hitting the wall.

"Charmeleon is out of bounds!" Violet called. "Charmeleon is disqualified! The round goes to Daisy!"

"Char!" '_Bullshit!' _He snorted, smoke and embers billowing from his nostrils. "Meleon!" '_Damn it! Sorry Ash.'_

Ash smiled again and gave his fire starter a pat on the shoulder. "You did good. Take a rest."

Charmeleon huffed, shooting a glare in Daisy's direction as Ash returned him. Holstering the ball, Ash looked as his closest partner. "You ready to go?"

"Pika!" '_You know it.'_

"Let's finish this, Pikachu!" Ash then commanded, Pikachu jumping onto the platform, making Daisy sigh. "I was hoping you wouldn't send out your Pikachu." she said. "But I can't get up, even if I know you'll just shock Seadra into submission."

"You're giving up?" Ash asked, eyeing Seadra.

"No, I'll just hit you with everything until either Pikachu knocks him out or the other way around." she replied. "Sometimes, it's the other way around. Seadra, Smokescreen!"

The seahorse let loose black cloud of smoke that billowed forth to envelop the pool, covering Seadra's approach.

"Hydro Pump!" Daisy called out. While the water-type attack was weak against electric types, there was a significant amount of force behind it, and Pikachu weighed less than Charmeleon did. If Seadra managed to hold it on the electric mouse, he would be blown out of bounds, like Charmeleon was.

Ash, however, had no intention of letting that happen. "Counter Shield!"

"Pika!" '_Right, that!' _Pikachu fell onto his back and began to spin, letting loose a constant Thunderbolt, creating an electrical shield around himself. When Seadra's attack did come, it crashed against the wall of electricity, cancelling it out.

"What the hell?" Daisy muttered, having never seen that.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded as Daisy was unfocused, Pikachu leaping into the air, black energy surrounding him. For a moment, it was yellow, but then it turned back to black and fired towards Seadra.

"The fuck?!" Daisy shouted as the dark bolt slammed into her water-type, yellow and black electricity coursing through it, the Shadow-enhanced electric attack being extra super-effective. Once the attack dissipated, Seadra collapsed, twitching as residual electricity fired off a nerve or two.

"Seadra… is unable to battle!" Violet called out, shocked. She hadn't seen an electric type take down her sister's Pokemon like _that _before. "The match goes to the challenger, Ash Ketchum!"

Daisy looked at the Pikachu, seeing tell-tale signs of it being a Shadow Pokemon. But… Shadow Pokemon couldn't be truly tamed, only controlled. After all, they were barely sentient compared to their counterparts. This Pikachu was in control. Purified.

Which was IMPOSSIBLE, as Agate Village was subjected to a severe case of nuclear explosion over 70 years ago and all of Crane's research was gone.

"How did you manage to purify a Shadow Pokemon?"

Ash smiled as Pikachu hopped back on his shoulder, grinning back as he did so. "Well, Professor Oak helped out a bit. I just trusted, cared for, and loved Pikachu like family." He scratched his starter behind his ears. "I guess you could say the rest is history." He muttered quietly.

Daisy sighed and started to cross the battlefield, returning Seadra as she did so. "Well, if he's not going to go around killing people, I don't have a problem with that. That was an interesting match, Ash Ketchum. Thank you."

"What you did with Krabby was reckless, Ash!" Misty said as she stalked over, her Pokemon now following her. "What if Spheal used all his weight on him?! He'd be crushed!"

Daisy watched as Misty argued with Ash, almost like she was six years old again, before… it happened. And Ash was… avoiding looking at anything below her chin. Misty would be fine with Ash.

Daisy smirked. "It's fine Misty." She assured her sister. "Here." She tossed the Cascade Badge towards Ash and turned around, adopting a traditional 'bratty' walk, stalking back towards the other side without a word, to the shock of all three of her sisters.

"Daisy, what are you doing?" Violet asked as she ran up to the elder sister. "Aren't you going to keep Misty here?"

'No." the eldest sister said as she looked at the two. Misty was almost normal, if… clingy towards Ash. Understandable, given the nature of the incident and her lack of friends in Cerulean.

"She's in safe hands." Daisy said, smiling as the two left the gym, Misty's bag filled with her pokeballs. "Safer hands then ours, apparently."

* * *

**Cerulean City Pokemon Center - Later that night**

* * *

Ash kept his head covered by a pillow to avoid looking at Misty.

He really should have got two rooms instead of a bunk. Didn't help that he was thinking bad thoughts like the heretic he was.

She was trying to get his attention, he knew it, which was why she was in what accounted as her underclothes. Which was basically a bikini. And Arceus-damn it, he was trying his best not to stare. But like any healthy young man, he couldn't help but peek.

'I need. A shock collar.' he thought to himself. Yes, any lecherous thoughts would be expunged by high voltage.

Then he began thinking about it. 'I've been shocked by Pikachu enough times that it would be a mild annoyance at best.' he thought depressingly.

"Pika." '_Just. Mate. With. Her._' Pikachu dragged out from his perch on the table. "Chuu." '_She wants you, you want her and this is unnecessary dancing._'

"We both know why I won't." Ash replied, facing the wall.

"Pikapi." '_Ash, for the love of Arceus and all her creations, please, JUST MATE WITH HER._' Pikachu said annoyedly. "Pi-chu-pi." '_There's a pool going on with the others on who you take and when and I am losing it._'

Ash slowly uncovered his head to glare at Pikachu. "You've got a BET." he all but screamed.

"Pika." '_Yup.' _He smiled smugly, looking for the world like Snivy. "Pika-pi." '_It's not just us. Some of Misty's Pokemon have tossed in on when.'_

Ash just groaned in defeat, forcefully smacking the pillow across his face.

"You okay Ash?" Misty asked, hearing his groan and the smack of the pillow.

He glanced over and immediately felt his face light up like a beacon. Misty's bikini top was of her shoulders, and she was keeping the cups of the swimwear barely up, exposing more of her-

'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA' He did not know which one of the many, MANY deities he'd pissed off over the years was doing this to him, but he would get revenge and he would not be shy about it.

Because this was getting ridiculous. In fact, he was damn sure someone was doing this for their own sick entertainment.

"Ash?" Misty asked again.

"Misty… please cover up." he pathetically moaned before Misty redid her ties, shrugging as she climbed onto the top bunk. Ash resorted to banging his head on the bedframe to put himself to sleep.

* * *

**The next day - 0759 hours local time**

* * *

Ash was simply not in the mood.

While Misty's Gyarados was attempting to intimidate him, he had faced the damn thing when it was _mega evolved_. Honestly, he had seen far, far, FAR more impressive Pokemon then the final evolution of Magikarp. In all honesty?

He was bored. Very, very, VERY _**bored**_.

"Gyara." '_I don't know what the big deal is. You don't even look like you care.'_

"Look, Gyarados, I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood. I've seen things far more intimidating than you, so if you're trying to scare me, it's not going to work." Ash deadpanned.

"Rados!" '_Oh really! Not everyday you see someone who isn't quaking in their boots at the sight of me. But I'm not done yet. Fight me.'_

The serpent got in Ash's face. Ash, not being in the mood for any further distractions, just smacked Gyarados in the nose, making the water/flying-type flinch. "I don't have time for this." Ash said, adjusting his hat and walking away, heading down for the route that would lead to Vermillion and Bulbasaur. His ambassadorial grass/poison-type was no doubt wondering what in the hell was going on.

Speaking of what was going on, Gyarados blinked once. Then twice. Abruptly he let out a massive laugh that shook the trees around him. "RARARARARA!" '_HAHAHAHAHA! That boy has guts to smack me without blinking! He will be an excellent mate for Misty!' _The dragon exclaimed, following along. Things would be very interesting with the boy around.

Ash groaned, rubbing the bridge of his brow. What was it going to take to get them to understand that he wasn't interested?!

Misty only wearing a bikini top instead of her usual yellow- 'what.' Ash thought, double taking on Misty, who was, indeed, only wearing her bikini top with her shorts instead of her more concealing (and Ash's sanity and self-control preserving) yellow tanktop while playing with her Squirtle while waiting for Gyarados to stop being Gyarados.

Ash's mental screaming could be heard by telepaths in Hoenn, that's how loud it was. Starmie actually whined.

"Misty?" he barely got out, getting the redhead's attention as she looked at him. "Yes?" she asked.

"Could you please put your top on?" he said, attempting not to stare anywhere below her chin. Attempt being the key word, as he was not entirely succeeding. Mostly because of Pikachu trying to force his head downwards.

Misty blushed and smiled shyly as Ash shoved Pikachu off his head and glared at him, which, thankfully, distracted him from Misty.

"Stop it." Ash ground out quietly. "I don't need you playing matchmaker!"

"Pikaaaa!" '_Just do it!' _

"Look, I know Pokemon society is different and all that, but human society isn't just mating with someone you like! " Ash whisper-yelled. "It's a bit more complicated than that!"

"Pika!" '_She wants you, you want her, even if you're fighting it_.' Pikachu retorted. "Pipi." '_Give in already and take her out on one of those 'dates' I keep hearing about_!'

"That is not happening." Ash said. "And you know why."

"Sorry about the top, Ash." Misty said, now wearing the top he knew her best by. "It's a hot day. I have no idea how you can stand wearing that jacket."

True, Ash was wearing his usual full outfit, complete with his blue jacket, jeans and black shirt, the hat being off his head at the moment thanks to Pikachu, while Misty…was wearing less than usual. Her shorts were shorter than he'd like, for example. A dark part of his brain would like them gone entirely, but he crushed those thoughts as easily as he had been doing for the past 5 years.

Abruptly gunshots rang out in the distance, causing all of them to duck down instinctively.

"Pika?" '_The hell?' _

More gunshots sounded off, so much so that it sounded like people were exchanging fire. "Pika-pi!" '_Someone's being attacked!'_

"We need to help!" Ash shouted back.

One of many things about Ash that would not change: a willingness to dive into danger.

* * *

**10 minutes later - Emerald Forest depths**

* * *

The so-called 'Emerald Forest' was called such by locals for the sheer numbers of trees and greenery, laying between Cerulean and Vermillion City, fed by dozens of streams and a few rivers.

It was also the sight of a massive fight between one blue-haired girl and a bunch of thugs in white outfits, the former protecting a large collection of young Pokemon while trying to guide them out of there.

Ash was confused as to why that girl from the hidden Pokemon village (what was her name? Millie?) was using a gun, but he was more confused by the thugs in white, as he knew who they were.

The outfits were different then what he knew, but the emblem was clearly that of the Unovan 'Team Rocket clone', Team Plasma.

Milly or whatever her name was, her being her was clear: she was the human caretaker for the young, the abandoned and in Bulbasaur's case, the very, very stubborn guardian of the village. Team Plasma was…he had no idea.

He could figure out why later; right now, they were attacking civilians.

"Charmeleon, take them down!" Ash called out.

"Char!" '_These idiots are in the wrong region!' _The eager lizard shouted, claws shining with draconic energy.

They noticed him far too late, and by the time they did their weapons had been cut in half and two of their Pokemon were knocked out by viscous Iron Tails and Claws.

Pikachu followed up, striking the grunts with a Thunderbolt, electrifying and knocking them out cold. Charmeleon took down the last Plasma Pokemon, a Panpour, with an Iron Tail.

The Plasma grunts then attempted to pull out backup weapons, but Pikachu charged up and fired a chain-Thundershock to fry them into going unconscious. The last thing they needed were annoying, awake members of Team Plasma. One of them tried to stay up, glaring defiantly.

Ash dealt with him with a shift kick to the head, as he had anger issues. And issues with Team Plasma in general.

Having a legendary fire dragon try to kill him was not something he was forgiving ANY time soon. He could forgive Team Rocket's many, MANY crimes for their sheer lack of competence and the times he helped them, but the others? Not so much.

"Well, at least they aren't those Rocket ripoffs." came the voice of the blue-haired caretaker of the village as she looked at them, her weapon lowered so she wouldn't shoot them by accident. "Thanks for the help."

Ash mentally smacked his head for a name (Melanie! That was it!) before looking at the incapasiated and in some cases, dead, Plasma grunts.

Ash sighed as Melanie replaced the magazine of her short rifle, but didn't comment on the bodies. Unlike the last time he had faced Team Rocket, he hadn't had the chance to do this non-lethally. Besides, Melanie was on her own.

"No problem." Ash smiled. "We were just passing through when we heard gunfire."

"They just came out of nowhere, attacking the village in the forest, saying something about 'Pokemon liberation'." Melanie said, looking at the grunts. "If it weren't for our little guardian, they might have killed me. Or hurt him."

_That _made everyone perk up. That fit Bulbasaur's bill. The little grass starter was a diplomat and a protector.

"Bulba!" '_Well look who it is!' _cried the saurian grass-type, emerging from the crowd. He looked as Ash remembered, if somewhat covered in dirt. At least, that's what Ash thought he was looking at. "Bulba-saur-bulb." 'So. anyone care to explain what's going on? Last thing I remember was stopping Herracross from being sap-happy and the next thing I know, I'm back with Melanie!'

"Char." '_Long story._' Charmeleon said. "Mele." '_Also, Ash can understand us now._'

Bulbasaur clearly did not believe that, judging by the look on his face. "Saur." '_Really. Can he now._' he said sarcastically.

Ash winked at Bulbasaur, smiling knowingly.

Melanie smiled at the interaction between the pokemon. "Well, he seems to get along with your Pokemon just fine. It's funny. Just recently, he was looking after the younger Pokemon and trainers, and I think he broke up a few fights. I was just thinking he would do best with a trainer."

Ash could hardly believe she was willing to just hand over Bulbasaur. And Bulbasaur fought him last time.

"Bulb." 'If you can understand me, Ash, you WILL escort them to the nearest town.' Bulbasaur said, his guardian traits showing quite prominently. "Bul." 'Though I know you'll do that anyways.'

"Yeah, Bulbasaur, I know. Maybe Lieutenant Surge will take them in." Ash said, referring to the gym leader that mocked Pikachu and him so long ago. And the vow that led to him letting Pikachu make the choice.

"I would prefer to take them to Celadon…" Melanie said, trailing off. "But Vermillion is closer."

"Bulba!" '_Good! Now ball me!' _

Despite Bulbasaur's cries, he looked to Melanie for permission. "Can I?"

She smiled. "He's already chosen you. Go ahead."

Ash retrieved a ball from his bag and prepared to toss it, only for the grass starter to beat him to the punch by headbutting the activation switch, catching himself before the ball even left Ash's hand.

"Someone was eager." the caretaker mused before gesturing down the trail. "Vermillion City's that way. It would take a few hours, but-"

"The Pokemon are going to slow it down a little." Ash said, knowing that a large crowd WOULD be slow to get going. Bulbasaur's ball teleported off, Ash trying to put a few things off his mind.

Mainly the fact that Team Plasma was here… and that death was a constant for no reason.

* * *

**Pallet Town - Oak Ranch/Lab - 1148 hours local time**

* * *

The Pokedex.

Samuel Oak's magnum opus (when it came to technology, at least: his Pokemon research and poetry was another story) was constantly evolving. The Johto model was designed to handle Pokemon egg identification as well as the standard information dumps that were standard on all of them, the Kanto model being the most absolute basic. The other regions had not received their prototype Pokedex models, but Birch was looking into adding more data for the Hoenn version, Rowan was thinking of adding alternate entries… every regional professor had ideas. Even that move-obsessed newbie, Kukui, wanted to have a model that supported a Rotom.

Oak was against that: he hated Rotoms.

However as he thought of the Rotom, a thought crossed his head as he was reminded of another largely ignored species: Porygon. One of, if not the only form of a 'Cyber' Pokemon which exists almost exclusively within cyberspace… and in essence was also a sapient A.I. The more he pondered on the thought, the more appealings it grew to him as Oak smirked a bit.

"Yes… that could work…" he muttered, before he picked up the phone as he began to make a call to a colleague of his.

He would have to design an upgrade for the Pokedex, but it was certainly good enough to connect to a Porygon memory module. Old game consoles did it all the time. Not that Oak would have experience with THAT: Cypher ruined any chance for a gaming industry to flower.

Before Oak could ponder how he would like to see how companies would wage war on each other with the customer ultimately the victor, the call was connected. "_Akihabara Labor_-" a bespectacled man in a lab coat began to say before the video image stabilized and he saw who was calling. "_Ah, Professor Oak! And what would Kanto's most famous professor want with a small-timer like me_?" Dr. Akihabara asked, his tone betraying his greeting.

'_Someone's bitter_.' Samuel thought to himself. Oak was just around longer: Akihabara was 24, he was 81. Recognition took TIME. "Hello Professor Akihabara - and please, drop the title, I'm not very fond of it… anyways, I find myself in a bit of a conundrum and I believe your research may be able to help me with that, if you are so willing to help me."

The man perked up at this. "_Oh_?" he asked. "_How so_?"

"I am planning an upgrade to the Pokedex, one for the use of an AI." Oak explained. "I thought you may be interested."

"_Doesn't that Kukui man have plans for a Rotom for the Pokedex_?" Akihabaka asked rhetorically, as he and Oak were well aware of Kukui's intentions.

"Rotoms are notoriously chaotic. The last thing I want is it randomly erasing the data in the EPROM." Oak replied. Getting new-old stock equipment for his Pokedexes was a pain, as the last computer manufacturer closed its' doors before the end of the Cypher War. There were no new parts to be made: everything had to be sourced from existing stocks and technology.

"_Fair… so I assume you wish to experiment with Porygons then_?" Akihabara asked, to which Oak nodded.

"Porygons are far more tame and controllable, as they are essentially advanced A.I Constructs." He said, "Having one installed within a Pokedex may prove far more beneficial than a Rotom would be - in theory at least." At least they wouldn't erase anything they weren't supposed to.

Besides, Oak had tried it with his son's Rotom once upon a time with a modified prototype. It ended with the prototype exploding and his daughter in law's Gible being sent after it.

"_If you wouldn't mind sending me the specifications of your Pokedex_-" Akihabara started before Oak pushed a button on his keyboard, sending the specifications and circuit board schematics to him, the KBM Model M making a nice 'click' before the younger man looked at the file.

"…_huh… alright,_" he mused as he looked them over. "…yeah, we might be able to pull this off… still gonna need a substantial amount of R&D though to finalize the concept."

"I can send over some parts over the translink. I've been working on concepts like this for a while, but a lack of Porygon…well, I tried with a Rotom. It ended poorly." Oak said, remembering that sound Gible made when she was in the ground, all shark-like.

"_For how many_?" the Porygon researcher inquired. Parts were very much a prized thing. After all, there was no way to make more until those Pernon people did something about it.

"Two prototypes. I trust you can do something with them." Oak said as he prepared to use the transregional transport link. A similar concept was used for the Pokemon Trade Link network that, despite everything from rogue Gibles and Diglett to nuclear bombs, still worked for transferring Pokemon, only for non-pokemon objects.

Bill tried it for people once. He ended up looking like a Clefairy for three days. Needless to say the project was… put on a shelf.

"_Yeah, I can do something_." He nodded, "_Give me say… a few weeks, maybe a month and I can have them_ _ready_. _I hope you have some people in mind to give them for their test runs_."

"I have a pair of trainers in mind. Just have a pair of Porygon ready." Oak said before sending them through the translink, disappearing in rings of light.

* * *

**Route 6 - 10 kilometers from Vermillion City - 1512 Hours Local Time**

* * *

Ash knew Misty was glaring at Melanie.

He began cursing out the Pokemon that screwed with her mind enough to make her attach herself to him within hours of meeting and making her more jealous then he remembered.

He noticed, in hindsight. Any girl that got too close and she turned into a Houndoom.

"Is… your friend alright?" Melanie asked, looking at the openly-glaring Misty. "I hope I didn't do anything that offended her…"

"Its fine, she's just…" Ash began, glancing at Misty "…very distrusting of strangers… "

"Pika." '_And Competition_,' Pikachu chimed in.

Ash wanted to throttle Pikachu. She was more of a love interest for Brock then him! Besides, he only reacted ONCE to a girl and he instantly regretted it because she was a haughty _bitch_.

Still, at least he didn't have his two flyers to deal with. Noctowl and Pidgeotto were…dogfighting. Apparently they weren't getting along as well as expected. From what he could hear, it was less loyalty this time and more their style of flying. Granted they weren't actively trying to _kill _one another now, which was an improvement… at least not intentionally…

Look, an improvement was still an improvement - no matter how small it may seem.

"Owl!" '_Try moving slower! You're not as impressive if you're darting about!_' the owl said as Pidgeotto attempted to ram him. "Noc-" '_Seriously, rushing headlong into a fight-_'

"Otto!" '_Not an owl! So shut up!_' she replied before attempting to Brave Bird Noctowl.

"Your Pidgeotto seems to be well-trained. Brave Bird isn't an easy move to pull off." Melanie said. "Well, easy to pull off, not so easy to avoid hurting themselves."

'_Yes, Talonflame had a distinct lack of care regarding that._' Ash deadpanned mentally, as he remembered his flame bird that liked Brave Birding. Often.

Not a mood he was entirely happy with.

He was about to call them down to have them chill out, before he heard a very familiar sound - that of police sirens. '_Huh?_' he narrowed his eyes, looking ahead as he saw what looked to be several smaller off-road police vehicles approaching them. They slowly came to a stop in front of them, and emerging from some of the cars were several Officer Jennys.

'It took me three regions to get used to them being identical.' Ash mused. Still, three? Usually there was one per major town or city.

"Hold it!" one of them yelled, right hand on a revolver in its holster. "We have a birdkeeper that claims saw a large group of pokemon en route to Vermillion. Seeing as that's true…what happened?"

Ash looked at Melanie. "I think you're the one to explain this." he said before she stepped forward, sighing. "The village in the forest I was caring for was attacked by members of Team Plasma." she summed up, much to the confusion of the officers.

"Plasma?" the lead Jenny asked. "They're usually not seen outside Unova. You sure it was them?"

"As a licensed Pokemon League doctor and breeder, I do keep up to date on the so-called 'teams'." Melenie said, surprising Ash. So she was employed by the league in this timeline? "A shield with a P on it is their emblem and their grunts usually dress like some ancient Kalosian or Galaran knight. Hard to mistake that."

"Damn… we've already got issues with Rocket, now we gotta deal with _another _copy-cat team?" The Jenny groaned. "Well… thanks for the info though… we can escort you people back to town in case any more of those gangsters are around."

"That would be nice. Thank you, officers." Melanie said with a slight bow.

* * *

Nearby, a trio of less than intellectually inclined people (or two humans and a Meowth) saw the massive group they were tailing link up with the cops.

While Jessie, James and Meowth were not exactly the sharpest Honedge in the Kanto Region, they were not completely stupid. They knew attacking this group was a mistake.

"So…many…" Jessie said drooling at the large number of Pokemon.

We never said they wouldn't think about it. Just that they knew it was a bad idea.

"Are you nuts?!" Meowth asked after clubbing her upside the head. "One, we're here to stalk the kid, not steal Pokemon for da Boss. Two, ARMED COPS! They'd shoot us on sight!"

"I know…but we can dream?" James asked.

"No dreaming! Keep on the job!" Meowth said before they resumed watching him with some of the most ridiculous spy equipment you can imagine.

Sad part was, Ash noticed them, he just did nothing because they hadn't attempted their usual MO of 'motto, attempt to steal Pikachu, fail'.

_Acting_ like a fool was one thing. _Being_ one was another.

* * *

**Lilycove City - Ports - 2314 hours local time**

* * *

"Gib! Gible! Gib!" '_Come on, I'm not that bad!_'

"Ko. Tree, Treeko." '_You're a metalivore, and what are ships generally made of?_'

While not completely true, Gibles did eat large amounts of iron, nickel and chromium, to maintain a nice, healthy coat of scales. Before he was caught by Ash, Gible ate an entire Team Rocket mech. His only response was a burp.

And because Gible couldn't make a large, reinforced tunnel, they needed to go by ship.

"Gib! GIB!" '_I won't eat the whole ship!_' Gible cried out.

"Chim." '_Notice he said 'the whole ship'._" Chimchar deadpanned.

"Gil." '_We need the WHOLE ship, Gible_.' Giligar said, not exactly impressed with Gible's complaints. "Gar." '_If__ you eat ANY part of it, we're in trouble. And there's no way our flyers can get us to Kanto unless they turn into Fearows_.'

Taillow and Starly glared at the bat-like Pokemon, who simply shrugged as best he could.

Gible grumbled. "Gib." '_You're no fun…_' he pouted.

"Ko." '_We gotta get to Ash, in one piece and preferably on a boat that still floats._' Treeko sighed.

It was a good thing no one noticed them, otherwise balls would be flying everywhere. It was hard enough to sneak in, with Gible wanting to do the whole land shark thing, but Torkoal was not exactly fast or stealthy, plus the Treeko clan was rather conspicuous.

Still, they needed to figure out what ship was going where.

"Turt." '_Well, Chimchar, we're going to need you on this one._' the grass turtle said, remembering Chimchar being the only one that could read the human language.

"Char, char." '_Right, right…_' Chimchar said before hopping off to find anything indicating where the ship was heading.

"Tail…" '…_I need to learn to read…_' Tailow muttered, "Low." '_I have the best eyesight, so I could read things from a hundred kilometers away…_'

"Sno." '_And learn how to avoid Pikachu's near-legendary levels of shocking power_.' Snorunt added. "…Snorunt?" '_How DID you avoid being easily shocked in those early days?_'

Tailow shrugged. Not even she knew how.

"Sta." '_I am somewhat jealous_.' Starly said before Gible began eating a piece of metal.

"Sno?" '_Should we… stop him?_' Snowrunt asked.

"Tail." '_He's just eating scrap metal, it'll be fine._' Tailow said, "Low." '_Plus, best he fill up now rather than on the boat._'

Chimchar came back, nervous as hell. "Char…" '_I nearly got noticed. Come on_." he said, shakily. "Chi." '_Follow me._' He then noticed Gible, nomming. "…Ar." '_Please tell me he's full_.'

"Tree?" '_Gible? Are you full?_' Treeko asked.

Gible finished eating its slab of metal, before letting out a content burp before eye-smiling.

"Treeko." '_Let's go_.' he said, sighing, as Chimchar led them to a ship with a mast, cargo cranes and a large cargo hatch with a ramp leading up to it. One crowded with crates, allowing them to get on board with ease.

"Sno." '_Well, that was nice and discrete._' Snorunt said.

_Creaaaaaak_

Everyone turned around, watching as the warehouse - the one they were staying in - suddenly collapsed in on itself… followed by Gible letting out another contentful burp.

Tailow and Turtwig looked at Gible. "Turt." '_Really?_' the turtle asked. "Tail!" '_What do you have to say for yourself?!_' she demanded.

Gible looked at the warehouse as humans and Pokemon examined the ruins. "Gible!" '_I regret nothing!_' he exclaimed, making all facepalm as the ramp was removed and the doors closed.

* * *

No Codex entry: login privileges revoked

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: …Why must he be CUTE?**

**Takeshi Yamato: Because Gible. Obviously.**

**117Jorn: He **_**is **_**one of our many mascot-like entities. Alongside Peacock Spiders and Ysalamiri. **

**Ron the True Fan: And Pikachu and Eevee and Natu and Riolu. Because excluding Pikachu is heresy of the highest degree. But Gible is best. For he is land shark.**

**117Jorn: Eh, I always saw Pikachu as Pokemon's mascot as a whole, Gible is our own personal mascot :D**

**Ron the True Fan: True enough.**

**Ja Ne!**


	11. Chapter 10: Electric Lieutenant

**Ron the True Fan: Welcome to Vermillion City, home of shocking-(WHACK!)**

**Takeshi Yamato: No bad puns!**

**Ron the True Fan: Also the last of the chapters we wrote back in 2019. This is getting posted two days early because I am going to be insanely BUSY on Thursday and Friday, so much so that I will not have time to even _look_ at a monitor, let alone post this.**

* * *

**Vermillion City Northern Entrance - 2058 hours local time - Day 15 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

It was late, even if the sun was still up, the gym was long closed and Ash knew it: Surge may have been a giant of a man that tended to be an ass about evolving Pikachus to Raichu, but even he was human and had to sleep.

Or needed obscene amounts of coffee to get up in the morning. Ash had no experience with that, to be honest: he never drank it in the last timeline or this one, as far as he knew. And for some reason, he felt like something was…trying to pull him closer to Misty.

'Oh, HELL no,' he thought, noticing Misty's Starmie, complete with glowing jewel, subtly trying to get him closer to her using her psychic powers.

On one hand, Ash understood WHY: they wanted Misty to be happy and to heal mentally from her experiences with the psychics. Ash was the only one they trusted with that, as she was attracted to him and had not abused that attraction.

On the OTHER hand, Ash had essentially taken a vow of celibacy - even if he didn't know the meaning of the word when he made that vow - and he tried to keep his word, even if it killed him. Which it usually DID.

"Knock it off…" Ash grumbled. On his shoulder, Pikachu had other ideas.

"Pika." '_No, keep going - I want this to happen already!_' he said to Starmie.

The trainer glared at his starter with annoyance. "Dammit Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed as he finally broke Starmie's concentration, making Melenie and Misty stare at him. Ash winced at the looks. "Sorry."

"What did Pikachu do?" Misty asked.

"Why ask? He can't understand Pikachu." the breeder stated as she pet the Oddish Bulbasaur protected in the last timeline.

"Yes he can," Misty stated, as Melenie blinked.

"…say what now?" She asked, as Ash sighed.

"Ash talks to Pokemon, and understands them," Misty reaffirmed.

"Oddish!" '_I don't believe you! He can't-_' the weed pokemon started before Ash interrupted him. "I know, hard to believe. It's… complicated." he not-explained.

"Odd. Oddish." '_You got lucky! If you understand me, give me a treat. That's the only way I'll believe you!_' Oddish demanded of the trainer. Ash simply shrugged.

"What kind?" he asked, Oddish effectively paling.

"…Oddish." '_Holy Arceus he can understand me…_' he muttered, as Pikachu smirked - tossing a Poke-treat at him.

"…holy shit you can…" Melenie muttered, looking at her Oddish's reactions.

"It's a gift. One I kinda wish I didn't have…" Ash said sheepishly. "Look, we need to get to the Pokemon Center and get a room-" Pikachu snickered at the phrasing, Ash glaring at his brother in all but blood and species and flicked him on the nose. "For the night. I'm not sure where you'll be staying-"

"Likely at the same. The police are setting up a shelter for the village Pokemon, but I'm just as tired as you are." Melanie said before yawning. "I have a lot of paperwork to deal with in the morning. And a call to my cousin. She is going to be PISSED…"

* * *

It took 45 minutes to reach the Pokemon Center, which was still open, thankfully. Ash wanted to plant his head on a pillow and be done with it.

He had a big day tomorrow with Surge. Humble the man with Pikachu, mostly.

And in case the big man had more Pokemon like Joltiks or, Arceus forbid, a Zapdos, well… it would be INTERESTING to say the least. Pikachu might enjoy the workout. Or Charmeleon would.

"Pika?" '_So… all joking aside, what's the plan?_' Pikachu asked. "Chu." '_I mean, as much as I feel like I could take down Raichu like before… we know that things aren't the same this time around…_'

"Understatement, Pikachu." Ash said with a mild chuckle as he laid down on the bottom bunk. Thankfully, Misty was asleep and not…well, making him want to scream. "We know he sticks to electric types. So… Magnamite, Magneton, the Pikachu evolutions… Joltik?"

"Pika." '_Ok, how are we going to fight a Joltik? Those things are the size of your thumb at times_!' Pikachu demanded, knowing Georgia's luck at fighting one with her Beartic. Or lack thereof.

"I think we can handle a Joltik." Ash said, before thinking. "…What about a Togedemaru?"

"Chu." 'T_hat's steel/fairy. Ash, I know we can handle them_.' Pikachu said.

"I know… just thinking…" Ash sighed, as he pondered. "…you don't think he has a Zapdos, do you?"

Pikachu laughed "Pi-pika-chuu!" '_Hah! Yeah, let's hope not!_' He said.

* * *

**The next day - 0647 hours local time**

* * *

Ash was typically an early riser, always eager to face the day.

Right now, he did not want to do so. Mainly because of Misty. Or rather, her lack of attire when she jumped out of the top bunk in their room, barely decent.

Ash mentally screamed when he noticed. Pikachu was not amused.

"Pikachu." '_Just mate with her and get it over with, please._' he asked before burying his head under a pillow to sleep more.

Ash continued to mentally scream for another three minutes until Misty went into the bathroom, likely to shower and- '_OUT! OUT! OUT!_' he cried in his mind to rid himself of lecherous thoughts.

He wasn't Brock, damn it! …Well, the Brock in the past timeline. The one here was dating Professor Ivy.

Before he dwelled on things that would give some people massive headaches, Ash then focused on battle plans. Just because he believed in improvising didn't mean he didn't go in without an actual plan of attack. Took him four years and minor brain damage from Zekrom to screw over most of his critical thinking (next time he ran into the electric dragon, he was introducing Gible to it) but he knew damn well to come up with a good plan instead of rushing in like an idiot.

He did that enough in Kanto the first time around and apparently insanity was doing the same thing twice, expecting a different result.

Of course with this world being so different (with the Shadows), he was expecting his fights to be far more… _intense _in the future. Brock was about what he expected, Misty's sisters were okay-ish… but Surge? From what he's heard he's an old war vet in this timeline - not exactly someone to take lightly both in the physical and tactical aspects in battle.

Ash was good at improvising, but Surge was an electric-type master. Kinda what Ash wanted to be, but he didn't do the whole type-specialization thing.

"Ok, it's fight day. Any suggestions?" Ash asked his starter, who got out of the bed.

"Pika." '_Raichus are mine and give Misty a kiss_.' he said with a mild grin.

"…Sure and no." Ash replied in order of advice. He had Cyrus to deal with: romance was never going to be on the cards.

"Pi." '_Oh, come on-_'

"NO. You know how I feel about that. I am NOT turning into my father, damn it!" Ash said as he grabbed his backpack, trying to ignore the swords he took from the Samurai all the way back in Viridian Forest almost two weeks ago.

…Was it just two weeks? It felt longer.

Pikachu rolled his eyes "Pika Pi…" '_I'm dropping it _for now,' He said. "Chuuu." '_At least until we trash this Gym._'

"Fine, I'll take it." Ash sighed, glad to have at least _some _reprieve from Pikachu's… _tactics_.

* * *

**Vermillion City Gym - 1 hour, 23 minutes later**

* * *

Ash saw that the gym design had changed somewhat. More… flashy, especially the big Zapdos statue with spread wings and a look that screamed 'I am going to electrocute you to death and EAT YOU'.

Honestly, Ash had dealt with a Zapdos with an even less friendly disposition in Kalos.

"That… is a big and angry bird." Misty said, somewhat shuddering.

"It's just a statue." Ash said, rolling his eyes. Seriously, it was just a statue of an electric type. It wasn't like a real Zapdos. 'Water trainers.' he thought with a dose of annoyance.

This was why he didn't do the type specialization thing. That and he liked the challenge of working on all Pokemon types.

He opened the doors, cuing the laughter of arguably Ash's least favorite person. At least when it came to Pikachus. The TRio weren't that bad unless they had Mimikyu and now that he had one for anti-Mimikyu tactics…

'Focus on the gym, Ketchum.' Ash thought as the lights came on, showing Surge, standing on some stage like a rock star - spotlights centered on him and everything.

"Welcome Challenger!" Surge announced loudly, "To the Vermilion City Gym! I hope you're ready to face my privates!"

"Wait, what-?!" Misty balked at that, before appearing beneath Surge were two more men, clad in similar military fatigues, with PFC rank insignias. "…oh…"

"Military toilet humor." Surge said, grinning. "To face me, you gotta run the gauntlet, from the lowest of the low to the Sergeants. You gotta endure the grueling grind of battle, to the edges of exhaustion! Only then are you two gonna face me!"

"Um… a-actually, only Ash is… um… doing the… challenge…" Misty said, taking a few steps to the side - leaving Ash standing alone.

"Ah, I see…" Surge nodded, as he gave Ash a look up and down. "A young man… but I see a glimmer of wisdom and experience in those eyes of yours… what's your name, son?"

Ash glared at Surge. A literal lifetime ago, he outright told him to evolve Pikachu against his will. He didn't exactly hold much of a grudge after kicking his ass the first time, but this time… this wasn't the Surge he humbled.

"Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town." he answered, making Surge's eyes widen.

"HA! Delia's boy! I thought I saw that angry look of hers in your eyes." Surge said, as though happy to see him. "Your mom's terrifying on the field."

"So I've been told." Ash said, wanting to know just what his mom did to garner the reputation she apparently had.

"Show no mercy, boys!" Surge declared. "But mind the Lumose Convention! Last thing I need is a lawsuit!"

"AYE, SIR!" both men answered, pulling out Pokeballs. "One at a time, Privates: this ain't Hoenn and their double battle thing." Surge reminded before the one on the left tossed a ball, unleashing a Voltorb. Ash scowled at looking at the Pokeball-like Pokemon, which he was well aware would explode at any time.

'If I ever go to the Orange Islands, I'm just going for Snorlax and Lapras.' Ash thought before sending out an old friend. "Go, Bulbasaur!" he called, releasing the Bulb Pokemon onto the field.

"Voltorb, use Shock!" The first Private shouted, as the Pokeball-like creature began sparking with electric energy, similar to a thunder-bolt before shooting it out towards Bulbasaur.

"Vine Whip! Dodge!" Ash called before Bulbasaur used his vines like springs, avoiding the bolt by going into the air, before grabbing the ball-like Pokemon with his left vine.

"Torb?!" '_What the hell_?!' said the ball Pokemon as it slammed into the ground thanks to Bulbasaur, making a crater in the floor.

"Well, that's interesting." Surge muttered as Bulbasaur continued slamming the ball into the gym floor, making it too disoriented to counterattack before throwing it out of bounds. "Not the most conventional way of winning. I like it. Sometimes, you gotta do what ain't in the book to win!"

"I aim to win after all," Ash smiled slightly, as Bulbasaur hopped back to his side while the Voltorb was returned by the Private.

"Continue the attack! Wear him down, soldiers!" Surge cried before the other private sent out another Voltorb, who began sparking.

"Bulba." '_Self Destruct?_' Bulbasaur muttered as the Voltorb glowed violently.

"Blubasaur, get into the air, avoid the explosion!" Ash cried.

"Bulba!" '_Got it!_' Bulbasaur shouted as he used his vine whip - crashing them into the ground, and using the momentum to shoot himself up into the air. Then using his second whip to reach up and grapple one of the overhanging lights to keep him suspended in mid air, as the Voltorb continued its self-destruct.

"…VOLT." '_FUCK!_'

*KA-BOOM*

Surge _**started**_. Just _**stared**_. Then laughed heartily. "Well played! I've never thought anyone would do THAT!" Then he pulled out a notepad, likely to make sure that never happened again. Ash smiled.

This was going better than his first encounter, but then, Ash only faced Surge himself and that took two tries to beat his Raichu.

"Rank up! Corporals! Take down this challenger!" Surge ordered as two more trainers, one male, one female, came out from the doors on the opposite walls to face him, wearing the ranks of Lance Corporal on their shoulders.

"Bulb." '_Now what_?'

"Go!" called the male trainer, releasing a Magnamite, which glared at the Bulb Pokemon that usually kept the peace back at the Ranch.

Most times, Ash would take this as a challenge, to beat the steel/electric-types with a grass/poison. But really? Not today. He only had one real challenge. So, while it was beneath him to resort to this, he just had no time for nonsense.

"Come on back, Bulbasaur. I know just who to use." the trainer said before recalling the Ambassador and sending out the (future) dragonic fire-type.

"Oh, come on, a Charmeleon?!" Surge said. "Where'd you get a second starter?!"

"He came to me. And seriously, Lieutenant, I have no time for your flunkies." Ash replied, making said flunkies glare at him. "The only one I am here to face is _you_. So if I have to barrel through your meat shields to get to you, _**so be it**_."

Ash had a grudge. He usually forgot about them and never acted on them most of the time, but he held grudges. But this time, he wanted to BEAT the idea of non-evolved Pokemon being good enough to face their evolved selves into Surge's skull.

'There's that flaring anger problem again.' Ash thought as he imagined himself literally beating the crap out of Surge for a moment. It passed as quickly as it appeared.

"Magnemite." '_Analysis of chance of victory: minimal. Awaiting orders._' said the magnet Pokemon as it focused its' single eye on Charmeleon.

"Magnemite, Sonic Boom!" ordered the lance corporal, as the Magnet Pokemon charged up static electricity to fire off the air attack.

Of course, that took time and Sonic Boom tended to be very hit and miss. Mostly miss, in Ash's experience.

"Charmeleon, dodge, then torch him!" Ash ordered, knowing while Charmeleon knew Flamethrower, he probably wasn't strong enough yet. Evolving didn't mean he was ready for all the things he liked to do. He had to train for it. For now, he had to resort to Ember.

"Char!" '_Flamethrower it is!_' the Flame Pokemon declared, Ash's concerns not being shared by Charmeleon himself as he jumped out of the Magnemite's line of fire, the sonic waves slamming into the gym floor. Then he took in a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of flame, engulfing the poor steel-type in fire.

"MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTE!" '_OWOWOWOWOWOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWWOWOWOWW!_!' Pretty much self-explanatory who said THAT.

At that moment, Ash really wished he couldn't understand Pokemon. But if he didn't, then they would never have come back with him and he'd have to bond with them all over again and-

'Stop it.' that dark voice in his head snapped. 'Take the bad with the good and move on.'

The flames did not last long, Charmeleon coughing madly as he was forced to catch his breath, his lungs not trained for long-term uses of the attack, nearly falling to the ground before catching himself. Charizard was too stubborn to give in to fatigue, no matter his evolutionary stage.

But the Magnemite had not fainted yet. "Mag." '_You will pay for that._' it said, PISSED. It might have been a machine at heart, but all Pokemon have emotions. Steel-types were usually the best at keeping them in check. But as with all things, there was always a breaking point.

CRUNCH!

And this was Charmeleon's. He was hungry. So, ignoring Ash, he jumped at the hurting Pokemon.

"MAG!" the Magnet Pokemon cried in pain before fainting, missing the right magnet that it kept close.

"Ok, kid, that was… just WRONG. I don't care how you spell it, that was wrong in SO many ways…" Surge said, half-muttering. While Pokemon often ate other Pokemon, they were usually feral, rabid and often Shadowed.

"I agree with you there," Ash narrowed his eyes at Charmeleon. "Charmeleon, what the _hell _was that all about?!"

"Char." 'Angry and hungry.' Charmeleon said before belching out fire. "Mel." '_Besides, you said it best. You want to face Surge._'

…Fair point, but the magnet was a bit far. "Corporal, get that thing to the infirmary and get it a new magnet!" Surge ordered. "You're lucky they can pick up new magnets if they lose one!" he yelled at Ash.

"I didn't tell him to do that, Surge." Ash snapped. The Lieutenant glared, but did nothing. Ash had a point there. It was still a good thing that losing a magnet didn't kill a Magnemite. Only melting the central core killed one. Losing a magnet was like losing a leg and fortunately due to their very nature, at least Magnemites weren't crippled for life; they simply needed to adjust to the new magnet.

"Sir, permission to fall back?" the girl asked, seeing that Charmeleon was hungry for more. It was a code for conceding the match without a fight and Ash knew it.

"Granted: I don't want two injured Magnemites in one day!" Surge ordered, the trainer leaving with her male counterpart, Charmeleon standing on the field. "Sergeants, front and center! Take that target down!"

"Yes sir!" The Sergeants announced as they marched up, pulling out their respective Pokeballs and tossing them out, revealing…

"Pika!"

"Chuu!"

"…Pikachu…" '_Well shit…_' Pikachu muttered, looking at the two non-shadow Pikachus which had just appeared.

"Pikachus ain't that rare, son. But these ones are a bit better trained then the one on your shoulder." Surge said with some pride. "Gotta make sure they're good and ready for Raichu'ing up, though. Made that mistake once. Took years of work to undo it. So, what're you gonna do?"

Both trainer and starter took offense to that. Ash for implying he didn't train Pikachu enough. Pikachu was incensed at the Raichu comment.

"Pika." '_They're _mine.' he spat, Charmeleon knowing much better than to argue with him as Ash returned him and Pikachu leapt onto the field.

"Pika?" '_Oh, hi there!'_ The first Pikachu waved, as the second one sighed - hitting it with the back of their tail. "Chu!" '_Hey! Oh, uhhh… p-prepare to be defeated!_'

Pikachu looked at the older one with a raised brow "Pika?" '_FNG?_' he asked.

The second Pikachu - a female - nodded. "Pikachu." '_Very much…_'

"Pi." '_I'll make this quick_.' Pikachu said before charging up for a brief use of Volt Tackle, though not for an attack.

Pikachu wasn't going to deal with them quickly. He was going to outrun them and destroy them when they tired. They hadn't left Kanto. He, on the other hand, had been from Kanto to Sinnoh and traveled two oceans to Unova and Kalos before going to Alola. They didn't have a chance against him.

So as their own trainers commanded them to tackle-dash him, Pikachu focused solely on running as fast as he could - literally running circles around the two less-experienced Pikachu's. To their credit though, they _did _keep up pace for quite a while - very clearly well-trained.

"Hmmm… interesting…" Surge nodded, as he continued to observe the fight - watching as his Sergeants Pikachu's were beginning to slow down.

"Pi… Ka… Chuuu…" '_Stop… running… it's not… a marathon…_' the younger Pikachu muttered, as he began slowing down.

"Pi… pi…" '_Not a marathon_.' their enemy said with a smirk. While Pikachu lacked the conditioning of the previous timeline, he more than made up for it. This was shown when he rolled back towards Ash, firing off a Shadow Bolt, electrocuting both of his fellows and knocking them down.

Surge nearly reached for a gun. "A fucking SHADOW? Has Oak finally gone insane?!" he shouted, hand on his holstered sidearm.

"Pikachu is under control; he's not trying to hurt anyone!" Ash said, as both 'enemy' Pikachus were unconscious, but alive. And Pikachu wasn't going after them. Surge kept his eyes on Ash's starter, judging him. After all, Shadow Pokemon were insane beasts but not stupid. Instead, he left them be, hopping back to Ash's shoulder.

"This is damned odd. Never run into a controllable Shadow before." Surge finally said. "Where'd you get it?"

Ash scowled, getting annoyed. "HE is my starter." he snapped. "And so far, the only people he's hurt are members of Team Rocket or insane killers."

That fire and anger rang out in his even voice, but it might as well have been an angry roar. And Surge knew it. He liked to push trainers to their breaking point in the other timeline as well and now he reached Ash's.

"Alright, alright. Oak's not known to give out Shadow Pokemon: he usually puts them down." Surge said, looking rather… perturbed about that subject. Ash wasn't an expert, but clearly, not even the most overkill gym leader enjoyed killing Pokemon, shadow or not. Necessary, maybe… but not welcome.

"Dismissed, Sergeants: you did your best. Normally, you'd face me, but I think it's time you face my irregulars." the big Gym leader declared before bellowing "Sergeants Major!"

Two older trainers, closer to his (new) sister's age, came out, both young men and both scowling at him. Clearly they heard Pikachu being a Shadow Pokemon and were not happy.

"Engage and destroy! Bring this challenger down!" Surge ordered, though Ash could see a small grin. He WANTED Ash to win and face him now.

"I'm gonna put that damn shadow six feet under," One of the Sergeants growled, tossing out their ball. "Geodude! Go!"

Ash was, at first, confused - Geodude? What's a rock type doing… it then hit him as the aforementioned Pokemon appeared… only it had stone-like eyebrows, and similarly shaped 'hair', hallmarks of the Alolan Geodude.

"Stand by, Blitzle! Take him down!" shouted the other, reminding Ash of Paul as the Unovan electric zebra appeared, not looking very joval.

'_Foreign electric types. Surge must use them to throw off locals. I know I'd be confused_.' Ash thought as he pictured his older self wondering how that worked. It was kinda funny.

But this Ash wasn't a clueless moron, he was a well-travelled, if somewhat bumbling, veteran. And frankly, he knew just who to send, palming Charmeleon's ball.

"Out you go, buddy!" he called as Charmeleon returned to the field with a yawn of boredom.

"Char?" '_Really_?' he said, eyeing the horse and rock. "Me." '_What's a Geodude doing here? I thought this was an electric gym_.'

"Geo." '_This is why, matchstick._' The Geodude growled, slamming its fists together - as sparks of electricity blasted out and around him.

Charmeleon looked at Ash with a 'What the fuck?' expression, as he sighed. "It's an Alolan Geodude - different typing."

"Dude!" _Shut up and die!_' yelled the irate Geodude as he generated and then tossed a large rock at Charmeleon, forcing the fire-type to jump and avoid it.

"Meleon!" '_Still a fire-type!'_ the fight-happy lizard yelled.

"He's still a rock-type!" Ash retorted while the Geodude Sergeant glared at him.

"Char!" '_Oh, right. Metal Claw!_' he said with realization before going on the attack, claws taking a metallic sheen.

"What the fu- DODGE!" The Sergeant began to shout, before Charmeleon punched the Geodude - the raw impact sending it _flying _backwards spinning before slamming against the side of the wall.

The resounding THUD made everyone wince. But the 'dude was not out. Surge didn't play that way.

"Keep going!" Ash ordered. "Evade and attack!"

"Char!" '_Evade?! I don't do that well_!'

"DUDE!" '_You'll pay for that_!' the Geodude yelled as he charged from the damaged wall.

A neigh cut into the fight as the Blitzle began charging at them both, Surge facepalming at the charge. "Damn it, not again!" he exclaimed as the zebra charged at not Charmeleon, but Geodude.

"Geo, Geo! GEO!" '_No, No! NO!'_ The Geodude shouted, waving his arms until…

WHACK!

CRASH!

Blitzle slammed into the rock-type, the already injured Geodude falling unconscious. "You need to retrain Blitzle to not do that." Surge deadpanned, looking at his Sergeant. "Take him to the Pokemon Center. I want to know what the hell is up with him."

"Aye, sir." the Master Sergeant said before returning the Blitzle, then heading for the gym doors.

"Happens every goddamn time. Release Blitzle, he rams into something, anything at random." Surge groused, clearly annoyed. But his annoyance ebbed as he looked at Ash. "But now we have nothing in the way."

'No, we don't.' Ash thought somewhat darkly. Pikachu wanted to beat up Raichus and he wanted to put Surge through a conga of humiliation. The first time loss to Surge was not something he enjoyed remembering, as he was an overly cocky, self-assured idiot. Not to the degree of Gary, but seriously, he thought he'd win every match last time.

Pride comes before the fall, something he learned all too well in Kanto.

"Now… let's see what you're really made of," He grinned as he pulled out his first ball. "Go! Magneton!"

Emerging from the ball was a Magneton… but Ash had to blink for a moment, as this one seemed to have a rust red paint job on its surface, and its eyes were glowing ominously red. "Magneton." '_Observation: One Fire-type Meatbag. Statement: Magneton is ready to serve, Master. Querry: May I kill something for you?_'

"What happened to your Magneton?!" Ash cried in horror, thinking that the rust was unnatural. Every other one he'd seen was perfectly shiny.

"It's the damnedest thing. I let him run around for a week and he comes back rusted and scary." Surge replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I kinda like it, though."

'Oh, that's just GREAT.' Ash thought. "Charmeleon-"

"Char!" '_He's MINE._' Charmeleon snarled, eager for battle, spitting fire. He wanted to get to Charizard again last month.

"Don't got a hold on your lizard?" Surge taunted with a grin before Ash glared at him hard enough to kill Mewtwo with a glance. "You've got your mom's anger, alright. Magneton, Zap Cannon!"

"Magneton." '_Confirmation: Of course, Master. Engaging assassination protocols._' The Magneton's eyes began glowing a brighter red, before it ejected _red _lightning from its body, sending it arcing towards Charmeleon.

Fortunately for Charmeleon, Zap Cannon did not exactly have the best accuracy. That did not mean it was easy to avoid given it was an exploding attack on impact with whatever it hit.

Also, assassination protocols?! What did Surge teach this thing?!

"Mag." '_Query: can you stop moving, meatbag_?' the evil thing asked. "Ton." '_Clarification: I want to hit you with my favorite thing._'

"Char?!" '_Ash, was this a thing last time?!_' Charmeleon demanded as the triple Magnemite kept firing at him, forcing him to keep running.

Ash shook his head, as he remembered quite well that last time all he had to do was fight Surge's Raichu - THIS was totally different from how it went before.

"Magneton." '_Observation: Meatbag is skilled, yet slow. Analysis: Meatbag is of a recent evolution._' Its eyes glowed again, unleashing more of its strange red lighting from its eyes at Charmeleon.

"Char!" '_Ash, can I PLEASE burn this fucking thing that's trying to kill me?!_' Charmeleon asked, seriously creeped out by the red machine that wanted to murder him. That and he was getting tired of being called 'meatbag'.

"Mag." '_Statement: That was rude. Addendum: Master would not let me. Even if I wanted to_.' the Magnet Pokemon said.

"Ember, then Flamethrower if you can!" Ash called out, hoping the smaller attack would sting and the more powerful one would hurt.

Charmeleon spun around, letting out a brief burst of fire - hitting the electric-type in the face, before he took a deep breath - and unleashed a torrenting blaze of fire upon the Magneton.

"Magneton." '_Analysis: Surface Temperature rising. Attempting to rectify.'_ said the steel-type as he flew out of the fire, literally glowing.

"Char!" '_Fist to the face!_' Charmeleon cried as he jumped, clenching a flaming fist that the rusted Magneton looked like it was horrified to see.

"MAG!" '_Statement: SON OF A-_' WHACK! And down the red Magneton went with a cracking thud. "Maaaaaaaaggggggg…" '_Systems failing, master…_'

"I hope never to see that Magneton ever again." Ash said drily. It freaked him the hell out.

"Oh, come on, kid. He's not that bad!" Surge protested. "Bit hostile to ground-types, but…"

Ash did not care. That thing freaked him the hell out and he NEVER wanted to see it again, even if he had to reset the timeline himself.

"Well, let's get back to it." Surge muttered before returning the red Magneton to the ball, then withdrew another one from his vest. "Out you go!" with that, Surge tossed the ball… and out came…

"Jol!" '_Hi_!' said a yellow, fuzzy spider, which then did a cute little dance. Ash, of course, braced himself for Misty's scream.

He was not disappointed, for Misty scrambled to hide. Behind him, no less. "B-b-BUG!" she yelled.

"Come on! Joltik's harmless! Well, other then making my lights dim at night, but that's not his fault!" Surge protested.

"She has a fear of bugs. Don't you know that?" Ash snapped, mentally punching himself in the head.

"No idea who the kid is." Surge said with a shrug before looking closer. "Wait, she looks like Daisy… Oh." He then made a face of recognition mixed with pity and sympathy. "OH. Misty. The one that-"

"I've heard." Ash all but growled, still wanting to hurt those two psychics, only being denied by the fact that Misty's sisters dealt with them first.

"THAT explains everything. Should've had her escorted to a secure room first." Surge said before getting back to business. "Still, what's done is done. Choose your next pokemon, kid!"

"Char." '_He might be weak, but that just means he's target practice.'_ Charmeleon said, even though he was tired from torching that red monster. But Ash wasn't going to bother arguing. If Charmeleon wanted to wear himself out, that was his own problem.

"Jol!" '_Surprise_!' said the spider… as he jumped faster then they could blink onto Charmeleon's face.

"Discharge!" Surge ordered, Joltik eyesmiling as a wave of electrical energy hit Charmeleon, making the lizard MAD. "Keep hitting him!"

"Roll back!" Ash ordered, Charmeleon glaring at Ash for a moment before putting his tail between his legs and rolled backward, Joltik jumping onto Ash's head, making Misty shudder in terror.

"Jol!" '_Hi_!' said the Joltik. Ash chuckled and rubbed his fuzzy head. Misty looked like she was about to faint, but Surge's bark of laughter got his attention.

"That's cute. Back to the battlefield, you little jumper!" the lieutenant said before Joltik jumped back and did another little dance. Ash had to admit, it was cute.

"Electroweb!" Surge followed with.

"Roll and Ember!" Ash ordered, Charmeleon dropping, rolling left and firing a burst of fire at the little bug.

"Tik!" BOING! Up went the little spider, preparing to pounce.

"Flamethrower!" Charmeleon grinned and spat out one last torrent of fire, almost engulfing the spider.

"Whoa!" Surge said, returning Joltik as the flames hit, conciding the round as he did so. "Your Charmeleon has a grudge! For that matter, so do you! What the hell did I do to you?"

Ash glowered. "You constantly insult people using 'baby Pokemon' when the early evolutions are perfectly fine for battle if trained the right way. And your Pikachu comments PISS ME OFF." he spat, finally letting it out. "So, you're going to learn, one way or another, to leave the choice to them."

"Leave the choice to them? Kid, I ain't the type to listen to that 'follow your heart' nonsense." Surge scoffed, grabbing another ball. "If they need to evolve, they need to!" with that, he tossed the ball, releasing a small black and blue cat with unruly hair that Ash recognized as a Luxio.

The Unovan cat glared at Charmeleon, but Ash returned him to his ball. He fought twice in a row: time to rest. Who to… Oh, hell.

Ash threw out the only ball he had from Pallet Town, releasing a little gag-covered ghost. "Mi!" '_Hi!_' said the little Mimikyu, waving her little stick-tail at the larger cat.

Surge stared. "No fucking way." he cursed. "A Mimikyu?! Why the hell do you have that Alolan Pikachu clone?!"

"Professor Oak gave her to me because he thought I couldn't control Pikachu," Ash shrugged, "And she's not a Pikachu clone - she's better than that,"

"Pika!" '_Yeah! You show em Mimikyu!'_ Pikachu shouted from the sidelines.

"Lux." '_I will not enjoy this_.' the cat said dryly. Ash didn't blame him. Mimikyus had that ability to soak up one blow and not take damage.

"Wild Charge!" Surge ordered. "Paralyze that rag-covered freak!" Luxio began to charge as Ash registered the insult and saw red.

"Wood Hammer." Ash ground out in response, Mimikyu jumping as soon as the cat got close, only to get a wooden tail to the head, the dry club negating the electrical charge and giving the poor cat a lump on the head.

"Mi!" '_Tag! You're it!'_ Mimikyu cheered as she hopped back away as the cat tried - and failed - to swipe back at her.

Surge stared as the two had what was, in effect, a bastardized pokemon battle version of Tag. And began laughing. Luxio was not pleased, Mimikyu was making something akin to laughter and Ash… was smiling. And Surge recognized that smile. His mother had the same one when she was plotting something EVIL.

"Keep away, Mimikyu! Do whatever it takes to be not It!" Ash advised more then commanded. Mimikyu then Wood Hammered the electric cat again, flying over the now-very smarting and annoyed Luxio, who snarled in fury.

"Mi!" '_Chase me!_' Mimikyu unknowingly mocked.

Luxio's scream could not be translated, but the meaning was clear: rage and fury, wanting Mimikyu's rag-covered hide. So he continued chasing, running as fast as its cat-like form could go… but Mimikyu was somehow even _faster,_ laughing all the way as they ran circles around the arena.

The tail continued to whack the black cat upside the head, Luxio screaming as he charged up a Charge Beam, hitting Mimikyu. But all it did was make Mimikyu's head lop to one side, Mimikyu flipping over Luxio… as he slammed into a wall, knocking himself out.

Surge doubled over and laughed. Hard. "Now, that… THAT was a show!" He laughed "It was less of a fight and more a game of tag!"

"Mimikyu likes to have fun," Ash shrugged, as Mimikyu hopped around victoriously.

Surge returned his cat with a chuckle. "Well, you lasted longer than I thought. Ran the gauntlet from the lowest of my recruits to some of my best at this badge level." he admitted before the faint smile was replaced with a scowl. "Your fun ends here. Staff Sergeant Raichu!" With that, Surge tossed out a pokeball with the emblem of a Staff Sergeant's rank on it, releasing the larger, whip-tailed and bolt-ended Kanto evolution of Pikachu.

"Rai!" 'This should be fun.' said the larger mouse.

Ash smirked as he glanced at Pikachu "You ready?"

Pikachu returned the smirk. "Pika, Pika!" '_I was BORN ready,_' he said.

Ash returned Mimikyu to her ball, Pikachu taking her place. The Raichu scoffed. "Rai." '_Great, a Pikachu. Your trainer couldn't give me something worth a challenge?_' he spat.

Pikachu's smirk only widened "Pika-chuuuu…." '_Oh, I am going to _enjoy _this…_'

"Begin!"

Pikachu began jumping and running at the Raichu, who clearly was not prepared for Pikachu's speed. While Ash did not pay great attention to Pikachu's reconditioning, clearly he was good enough for a fight with a Raichu.

"Focus Punch!" Surge ordered. Ash frowned as he thought of an attack.

"Iron Tail! Hit him in the leg!" he ordered, Pikachu diving under the attack and tail turning to steel, slamming into the evolved electric type, hurting the Raichu enough to make him shift to the other leg and jump away, rubbing the injury.

"Sergeant! Grass Knot! Go!" Surge shouted.

"Jump, then Iron Tail!" Ash ordered, the grass forming around Pikachu's feet briefly, but Pikachu saw it and used his tail to spring himself upwards, tearing the grasses and turning his tail to steel.

"PIKA!" 'Down you go, asshole!' Pikachu cried, slamming his tail into the Raichu's head, no doubt causing a concussion and probably cracking his reinforced skull. Fortunately, Pokemon healed quickly. Unfortunately, that still meant Raichu was in the fight in the short term.

Surge snarled. "THUNDER!" he ordered, Raichu charging up for the inaccurate, but powerful attack.

Ash grit his teeth. "Duck and Countershield!" Ash ordered. Pikachu rolled and used Thunderbolt, spinning around as the attack fired off, hitting the cage of electricity.

Raichu yelped a bit, being stung by the electricity - but being an electric type the damage was minimal. But the fact that it still caused him a bit of pain was concerning. "Damn, Thunder Punch! Double-time!" Surge ordered.

"Raaaaaiiiii!" '_I want you to suffer, you yellow bastard!_' Raichu yelled.

"Pi!" '_Weren't-_' Pikachu then jumped away from a punch. "Ka!" '_You a Pikachu-_' He then ducked and sprung back, Raichu getting more annoyed. "Chu!" 'J_ust like me once?_' he finished, now a good ten feet from Raichu.

"Rai!" '_I was weak and I took my first chance at evolving! Wouldn't you?!_' the thunder rat spat at Pikachu.

"Pi." '_No._' Pikachu then began charging up for an attack he stopped using a long time ago. "Kachu." '_Sometimes, being a giant is a bad thing!_' the thunder mouse then charged, Surge seeing exactly what he was planning, Ash knowing as well. The Lieutenant knew he was screwed.

These two had made an attack pattern designed against Raichus. "GRASS KNOT!" Surge ordered, too late to stop it.

"Thunder!" Ash ordered, Pikachu channeling the power into an electric bolt that shot skyward as he slammed into Raichu… and the bolt slamming into Raichu.

"RAAAAAIII!" 'OOOWWWW!' Raichu exclaimed as it was hit with the attack full-force.

Ash glanced at Pikachu and nodded. "Volt Tackle," he said, making Surge metaphorically stain his pants as Pikachu jumped back, landing at the edge of the field and charged, using a somewhat-weaker version of Volt Tackle then Ash would like.

It did the job, though, knocking Raichu out of the fight.

"Raaiii..." 'How…?' Raichu muttered before he collapsed in a heap.

Surge sighed. "Well, kid, I underestimated you and it cost me." he said. "Nice to know I can be wrong. So, as your-" The ground then began shaking somewhat. "What the…?"

As Raichu began to groggily get back onto his feet - in no condition to fight - the ground under him began to crumble a bit "…Rai?" '_what the?_' Before it suddenly shattered into a hole "CHUUUUU!" '_AAhhhooow!_'

Ash and Pikachu cautiously and confusedly approached the hole. "…Pikachu… Was that the Wilhelm Scream?" the young time travelling trainer asked. He had started in enough questionable films to recognize the (in)famous stock scream that was both loved and hated by all.

"Pi?" 'I… think?' his starter answered warily before something approached from the bottom of the hole, nosing the Raichu back up and launching him out towards Surge before being revealed.

"Sandile." '_Arceus, I NEVER want to do that again._' said the glasses-wearing croc that Ash was all too familiar with. It was hard to forget the Unova version of Charizard, after all.

"…no fucking way…" Ash muttered, his eyes going _wide_ upon seeing it. "S-Sandile?!"

"PikaPi?!" '_What the fuck?!'_

"Sand!" 'Ash!' said the little croc as he crawled out of the hole. "Dile!" '_I thought I picked up Pikachu's signal dug right for it. But a Raichu fell on me_…'

Surge looked like he was having flashbacks looking at the croc. Considering he was Unovan and… Sandiles were common as Rattata in Kanto… they might not be good ones.

"Sandiles… so many Sandiles…" the old man slowly said as his mind went back in time in the bad way.

To Ash's surprise, Pidove was next to fly out, flapping her wings. "'Dove…" '_Back home_.' she muttered, before seeing her trainer. "Pi!" '_Ash_!'

"I… wh… HOW?!" Ash shouted, looking at the Sandile and Pidove, "How are you guys here?!"

"Do." '_Sandile dug_.' Pidove deadpanned as Cyndaquil and Tepig crawled out, panting before Misty approached, looking at the adorable fire mouse. Cyndaquil just slammed into the young woman and began cuddling, much to her confusion… but she found it cute so she wasn't going to complain.

Ash, though, understood: she knew Misty and hadn't seen her in a long time. Chikorita and Oshawatt were next to emerge, the former dragging out a Pineco of all things with her vines. Ash just stopped trying to understand at this point.

"Oh my god, an Oshawatt!" She exclaimed, stars in her eyes, "Ohhh those aren't even native around Kanto!"

Snivy dragged Roggenrolla and Sewaddle out with her vines, snarling in annoyance. "Sni…" '_Move your asses, damn it_!' she snapped before seeing Ash. "Vy." '_Oh, idiot. Thank fucking Arceus_.'

"I can understand you, Snivy." Ash retorted. "Don't call me an idiot."

"Sni." '_Oh, good, you know Pokespeech_.' she muttered as Totodile and Phanpy helped Heracross out of the hole. "Hera…" '_Please...no more hole…_' he muttered, begging for the outside.

"...how long have you been digging?" Ash asked, looking concerned. "...don't tell me you dug all the way from Unova to Kanto?"

"Sand." '_Stopover in Johto. Where's Noctowl_?' Sandile asked. "Ile." '_The Johto crew's getting concerned_.'

"Pika-ka." '_He's back at the ranch: he flew here to get caught in Viridian Forest_.' Pikachu explained.

Surge finally snapped out of it and approached Ash. "The actual fuck is going on, kid?" he demanded. "Those are Unovan and Johto Pokemon, six of them being starters!"

"It's complicated." was Ash's only answer. An understatement of massive proportions, to be sure. But explaining time travel and Cyrus to Surge would not be fun. Or it would just get him sent to the nuthouse. Either/or, not a good thing for him.

A flash then revealed an onion-headed Mythical Pokemon, right in front of Ash.

"Cele! Celebi!" '_Ah! Finally, found you!_' She sighed "Cel! Celi… bi…" '_So! I found out where the rest… of your… Kanto team…_' she began to look around… and noticed A. she was in a building…

…and B. Surge was looking _right at her_.

"…Bi." '_Fuck._'

"What the hell is a Celebi doing here?" the ex-military man demanded. Ash sighed, knowing he wasn't getting out of this. It was a miracle Misty was so caught up in his water-types, she wasn't noticing.

"Ok. You want the truth?" Ash asked. Surge nodded, motioning Ash to continue. "Time travel. I'm from the future, six years from now. The world ended, I'm here to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Surge blinked once. Twice. Three times. He glanced at Celebi… who sighed and nodded, confirming the story. "…holy shit…" he muttered.

"Yeah, lucky me." Ash deadpanned. "So now I gotta find all the Pokemon I gathered over the years… but it looks like they're also trying to find me, so… yeah…"

"What the fuck happened?" Surge hissed, watching for Misty, who was busy looking at Palpitoad. "How-"

"Team Galactic's leader. He's called Cyrus, he got control of two of the creation trio." Ash quickly whispered. "Took two and a half years for them to go insane and tear reality apart. Everything got changed when I went back."

"…like?"

"Well Shadow Pokemon weren't really a thing," He said, "I mean… I heard they _existed_, but only in Orre and they were few and far between… it never got _this _bad… and Pokemon were a lot less… violent… Gyms were smaller too… also Guns are _way _more prevalent now, like… I've only seen Team Rocket use them like once or twice in the original timeline… "

Surge shook his head. "You've gone through hell. Six years?" he asked before huffing. "I'm surprised you're still sane."

"I died over eight times, time travelled twice, ran into other time travellers too many times to count. Sanity is overrated." Ash deadpanned.

"If it were, I'd be in an asylum, not running a gym. You got PTSD, kid, you're just finding very creative ways of avoiding dealing with it." the man said. "If you need a hand… call me up."

"I hope I never do," Ash said with a sigh.

"Anything to save the world, Captain." Ash double-taked at that. Surge called him 'captain'. Sign of respect if he was being called by a higher rank.

"Bi." '_I'll get you everything you need to know later. I need go get the hell out of here_.' Celebi said as she warped away.

"…if you'll excuse me kid…" Surge sighed, as he recalled Raichu. "…I need to get a drink after this… and make a shitton of calls…"

* * *

**Vermilion City Pokemon Center - 1248 hours local time**

* * *

Ash had balled all of his Johto and Unova captures, although Misty protested somewhat about the water-types. Still, while they were happy to see her, they preferred Ash, so they stuck with him.

If only she knew WHY.

Still, she was happy to see foreign water-types, especially from Unova, or Isshu as it was called in Kanto. At least Ash could understand foreign languages easily.

But now Ash had won a new badge and collected a number of Pokemon from two different regions. Misty could really care less about the badges. Ash was happy, so she could be happy.

But as soon as they walked in the doors, the local Joy (who babysat her whenever her sisters had to come to Vermillion) waved them over. "Mr. Ketchum?" she quired. "There's a call for you from Professor Oak. It's in booth 4."

"Ah, thanks," Ash nodded as he walked over to where the comm booths were - reaching the one indicated. Once he sat down he picked up the phone, "Hello?"

The face of the regional professor appeared, glancing at something on his desk. "_Ah, Ash! I see you won your match with Surge… and upped your Pokemon count by nearly double_."

Misty giggled at remembering that, Raichu screaming as he fell down that hole. She did notice Ash and Surge talking for a bit, just… not about what they were talking about.

"Yeah, that wasn't intentional." Ash said, rubbing the back of his head. "But at least you'll get to study Unovan starters up close?" That was weak and everyone knew it.

"_If I wanted to study Unovan starter Pokemon, I'd call up Professor Juniper and have his daughter send me a set_." Oak retorted. "_But I have another reason to call. You see, I've been working on a Pokedex upgrade for you_."

Ash rose his brow at that. "…how so?" He asked. '_Please don't be Rotom,_ please _don't be Rotom…_'

"_The Pokedex is limited in capability, but I have a new way for it to assist_." Oak said, the video showing him holding up some module. "_This is designed to use a Porygon that will assist you in swapping out your Pokemon in the field as well as a training regime. I would have used a Rotom, but the LAST time, it ended… poorly_."

Ash heaved a sigh of relief. Misty could relate: Rotoms were a pain in the ass, more than they were worth. They needed to be distracted by motor movement, otherwise, things tended to go to hell in a handbasket. Her sisters had a few Sinnohan challenges that used them. There was an unofficial Rotom ban on the now.

"Okay… so how does this work?" Ash asked, "Do… we just upload the Porygon into my current dex? Or are you sending me a new one?"

"_It's an upgrade. Slides onto the back and hooks into the expansion port on the back. It will do until we finally get more PCB materials_." Oak said, sounding annoyed about something. What was a PCB, anyway? "_I'll be sending it to you in a moment: Doctor Akihabara has a Polygon I have to upload into it_."

"Okay…" Ash nodded, "Is… everything alright Professor? You look… annoyed…"

"_The Porygon is being somewhat difficult. At least it's not a Rotom. I don't have a Gible to deal with one of those_." Oak said as something beeped, Ash grinning about something.

"Uh… what's a Gible?" Misty asked, getting Oak's attention.

"_Ash, who is the lovely young lady behind yo_u?" he asked, before looking stern. "_Don't tell me you're using your new-found-_-"

"No." Ash snapped, sounding annoyed and very angry. "Never. I'd never force her to do anything." Misty looked at Ash, who had a look of… melancholy? Regret? She didn't know.

"_Well. May I have the lady's name?_" Oak asked, taking the hint from her companion/mental stabilizer.

"U-um… M-Misty…" She spoke up nervously. "M-Misty Waterflower, sir…"

Oak nodded. "_Ah, yes. Daisy's younger sister_." he said, wincing. Likely from-

Misty held her head, a headache starting to form from the… reminder.

"_I'm sorry. I forgot about what happened to you. Sending the upgrade now_." the old man said before typing on a keyboard. "_It should be there in a moment_."

A slot under the terminal opened, revealing a device the size of the Pokedex itself, with a protruding slot on the front. Ash picked it up, seeing another slot in the same place.

"Well, it won't fit in my coat pocket anymore." Ash said. Misty didn't see why that was a problem.

"_I'll see if there's a way to slim it down. By the way, Lieutenant Surge called_." Oak said. Misty paled. 'PLEASE tell me he doesn't want to come with us!' she thought.

"About what?" Ash asked.

"_Don't worry about it: he was just warning me about your new captures_." Oak said, his image waving it off. "_But you have two tickets for a cruise to Lavender Town, courtesy of the Lieutenant._"

Ash had a blank stare as he recalled the last time he was on a cruise ship in Kanto… with memories of Team Rocket trying to steal Pokemon, and getting tossed around by Gyarados… and then stranded on an island… with giant Pokemon…

….

….

…

"...could I get those converted into plane tickets?" Ash asked.

Misty facepalmed. Did he know ANYTHING? "Ash, planes haven't been a thing for decades! And all of them are in Orre!" she yelled, feeling somewhat… familiar screaming in his ear. She kinda liked it. "And I still want to know what a Gible is!"

"It's a dragon/ground-type, looks like a shark and likes to chomp on people's heads." Ash replied, sounding like he had personal experience. "Professor, I REALLY don't want to get on a ship."

"_Ash, Surge has already booked your passage. Besides, all the routes leading east and west out of Vermillion were sealed due to a Diglett infestation_." Oak sternly replied. "_And where there are Diglett, there is always the chance of… land sharks_."

Ash groaned. "Fine…" he muttered "Just… I'm gonna need Squirtle, Oshawatt, Palpitoad and Totodile."

"_Ash, the road is closed. Not even Surge can get you out of this one and he's an expert in dealing with ground-types_." Oak said. "_Just enjoy the cruise. You never had a problem with water before_."

Ash said nothing to that. "So… plug it in?" he asked regarding the module.

"_It's that simple. Now, if you excuse me, your Heracross is trying to assault Bulbasaur_." Oak said, amused at the two. "_Good luck_." With that, the call ended.

Ash sighed "I'm still gonna get my water-types for this…" he muttered as he plugged his Pokedex in, and waited as it uploaded the 'upgrades'.

The Pokedex screen updated, with a 2D Porygon face appearing on the screen. "Greetings. I am Zero. Am I addressing Ash Ketchum?" the Pokedex seemingly asked. But Misty knew it was a Porygon.

"Yup. That's me." Ash said warily, for some reason. Did Ash have a bad experience with Porygons?

"Excellent. I will be monitoring your progress as you continue your journey." 'Zero' said. "Be advised: I can transfer your Pokemon at any time so long as someone on the other end can place the ball with the Pokemon inside in the transport system."

"Good to know," Ash nodded, "So… anything else I should be… aware of?"

"The nearest gym by land is Celedon City. However, land routes are closed." Zero reported. "The closest gym via your cruise is Saffron City via Lavender Town."

"Fine. Let's get this over with." Ash sighed in resignation. "Let's hope the SS _Anne _isn't going to sink."

Misty looked at Ash. "What's the SS _Anne_?" she asked.

* * *

**Pallet Town - Oak Ranch - two minutes prior**

* * *

Bulbasaur was happy. The timeline was beyond screwed, but some things did not change. The Ranch was safe, he was breaking up fights…

A buzzing sound registered in his ears. "Bul." '_Damn it_.' he spat, as the one thing he wanted to change wasn't.

"Saur!" '_Heracross! Fuck off!_" Bulbasaur shouted, as Heracross, his nemesis, flew overhead.

"Cross!" '_But I'm hungry!_'

"Bulba!" '_Then eat something that isn't the sap from my damn bulb!_'

Bulbasaur hated Heracross. Well, the sap-from his bulb drinking he hated, Heracross himself was a good enough guy when he wasn't sucking the bulb on his back dry.

WHACK!

"Man!" '_FUMBLE_!' said Primeape, still a Mankey despite training like mad at the ranch as he hit Heracross in the side, sending them both flying. Bulbasaur would know: the pig-monkey was the first one he ran into. He expected Charizard or even that damned land shark.

"Cross!" '_Oi! The hell are you doing_?!' Heracross demanded as he got back upright. "Her!" '_I'm hungry_!'

"Key!" '_Then eat this_!' replied the monkey as he Low Kicked the bug in the face.

Heracross growled - batting his wings as he gained some altitude "Hera!" '_You're gonna pay for that monkey-boy!_' he shouted, as he dived towards him.

Bulbasaur vaguely watched as the two began to have a sort of death match. Fortunately for them, they had two flying-types that would keep them from doing so… when they weren't Brave Birding and Steel Winging each other repeatedly.

BOOM! And there they were again. Seriously, it wasn't like Pidgeotto WANTED to stay away. Crazy bastard with the airship and an obsession with the Legendary Birds pushed her away.

Speaking of, Bulbasaur was planning to have a grass-water-fire fight for who got to wring the bastard's neck later: NO ONE was happy with the whole 'Ash drowning' thing and they were equally as displeased that the asshole got away with it.

Their trainer was an all-loving fool and they loved him for it. His greatest strength and weakness. The only thing keeping the Pokemon from… dealing… with the ones that tried to hurt him was their trainer and the law. The law had changed, allowing them to defend their trainer by any means necessary… and Ash couldn't stop them if he was knocked out.

There was a _sizable _list of people whose actions nearly got Ash killed - or _did _get him killed and it took some serious 'bullshit' to bring him back…

…no one liked to think of what almost happened with the Mewtwo incident after they got their memories back. Or the Shamouti debacle. Or the Tree of Beginning incident. Or the time he was literally frozen solid during the Victini debacle.

They had a list. Bulbasaur was checking it thrice. And as soon as they knew who was an asshole and who wasn't, they were going to go to town on them.

Chikorita was smacking a tree nearby, furiously. Bulbasaur winced, knowing Chikorita had a crush on Ash. She never grew out of it. And now that Ash could understand them… well, that would be awkward.

A crunch was heard as Mankey smacked Heracross with a relearned Karate Chop. Bulbasaur saw them wounded and bleeding, Mankey having a bloody eye and Heracross' chest exoskeleton having somewhat caved in from a kick.

"Bulba!" '_Stop! NOW_!' Bulbasaur cried as he approached the two, Heracross' wings barely beating as he struggled to stay conscious.

Mankey, though, was conscious, but roaring. Then he glowed, literally, turning into energy. Mankey was evolving, his tail shortening, legs and arms bulking up, his hands getting covered by what was essentially an organic boxing glove with iron bands made from the iron in his blood and his body bulked up to turn him from an agile monkey to a boxing ape.

Primeape was back. THUD! And on his face unconscious, Heracross slamming into the ground as well.

"Bulbasaur!" 'MEDIC!" the Ambassador cried as a pair of Ralts got to them and performed Heal Pulse on them both, enough to stabilize them until they got dragged into the lab itself.

* * *

Oak sighed as he ended the call and one of Ash's new captures, a sap-addicted Heracross (easily corrected with a special diet) and Ash's Mankey - '_Oh, correction, Primeape. Better make a note of that_.' he thought - were brought in by his Bulbasaur and Chikorita, dragged in by their vines.

"Richards, get the medical equipment ready: we have a pair of injured fighting-types." he called. "And one of them is part bug, so get the right meds this time!" Seriously, he hired out interns so he could focus on keeping the lab orderly, not accidentally kill a Pokemon with the wrong meds.

"I see our boy has captured new Pokemon." an unexpected voice cut in. "Pity. None of them are spectral."

Oak turned to face the source, who turned out to be Agatha Grimm, eldest of the Elite Four, mistress of ghosts and someone that just would not DIE.

She also happened to be his wife and Gary's grandmother, but that didn't matter right now.

"Agatha." Oak said, confusedly. "I wasn't expecting you for another month." All told, he wasn't expecting her until after the conference in six months time.

"The benefits of being bonded to ghosts." Agatha said with a grin. Oak knew all too well those benefits. "But back to the Pokemon. The boy's?"

"Not Gary's. Ash just captured them." her husband replied. "And you should know I gave him a Mimikyu. She just won him the Thunder Badge, no less."

"Surge did send me a recording of the event, I just haven't watched it." she admitted. "So… he has what he needs for later?"

"You and I know he has more than just Pokemon from Johto and Unova." Oak said as his shadow was invaded by a laughing being. "Gengar, get out." he snapped before a white Gengar exited, smiling and giggling.

"He likes you and you know it." Agatha said before her preferred Pokemon returned to his ball.

"I have enough ghosts going into my shadow. Yours should know better." her husband said before sighing. "60 years."

"Yes. He'll have his meeting," she said. "Little Sammy needs to meet his friend with the Celebi." Agatha's eyes seemingly went inward before she scowled. "Giratina is calling. He… IT wants to talk to me. Infuriating that the legendaries never stick to a gender."

"It's their nature." the Kanto regional professor said. "Go. I'll keep those two from their graves."

"I damn well hope so." Agatha said before disappearing into her own shadow. Oak shook his head. His wife scared the shit out of him sometimes.

* * *

**RMS **_**Germanic **_**\- Atlantic Ocean - 1458 hours local time**

* * *

"Goom." '_About time._' Goomy said as he finally made his way back to the Gabena staterooms, finally free from that contraption as he prepared for training. Well, training other then zapping Bonnie's head every five seconds.

He might not have liked her, but Dragonbreathing her was lethal. Adult humans could take it. Young and elderly, it would kill them. He had to hold back just to make sure Grace wasn't badly hurt.

And when Goomys were the weakest of all dragons and could kill with dragonfire, that was saying something.

But back to the point in question.

Goomy squirmed forward, grunting as he moved ahead. "Goo. My…" '_Arceus, I hate this form…_' he muttered, hating just how… _slow _he was as a Goomy. He had forgotten just how _agonizing _it was being so small, and made him appreciate being a Goodra all the more.

At least Goodra had actual legs.

"Vui!" '_Hi, Goomy!_' said the brown and white fox as Goomy got into the stateroom, Serena playing with Fenniken, singing something in Kalosian. "Eevui?" '_are you free from the yellow heads?_'

The siblings had the most yellow of yellow hair. They couldn't be called blondes.

"Goo." '_I'm free. But I want to get training._' the snail said. "Go-omy go." '_I want to evolve._'

"Vui!" '_Me too! I want to be a Sylveon!_' the fluffball said. "Vee." '_I'm close enough with Serena, but I haven't really fought anything._'

Goomy's mouth almost turned into a very human-like smirk. "Goo." '_Then we have a match to fight._' he declared. "Omy." '_I want to be ready to evolve by the time we get to Kanto. Why not train together?_'

It made sense. Goomy could improve his abilities in combat while helping Eevee evolve. Eventually, she would evolve into a Sylveon and become immune to his dragonic attacks, he could fire everything he had at her and not hurt her.

With that, Eevee tackled him playfully, crying out all the time before Goomy spat out dragon fire to get her off.

"Oh?" Serena asked as she refocused on the world around her. "Goomy, what are you doing?" Then her Eevee actually smacked into Goomy, whose squishy body repulsed the attack easily. "You want to fight? Well, the poop deck was converted into a battling field when the ship was put back into service…" she added, as if only half-interested.

Goomy really wanted to know what was WRONG with her, but had no time to ponder as Froakie picked him up. "Froak." '_You don't want to start a fight in here. Something will catch fire._' the frog said, somewhat annoyed. "Fro." '_And if something catches fire, we're all dead._'

"Goo." '_And you don't want to be a Greninja by the time we get to Ash?_' Goomy asked as he was carried through the ship via the promenade deck.

"Fro." '_I train where it isn't a danger to others._' the ninja replied. "Kie." '_If I use a water attack and breach the hull, there is every chance this ship will sink._' Fair points there.

The rear deck of the ship was filled with Pokemon and trainers, some fighting in training bouts, others just playing. It was open, allowing attacks like Hyper Beam, flamethrower… Dragonbreath… to just go out to sea harmlessly.

Goomy was placed on one small sub-field (the deck being too small for anything like the gym-sized fields) while Eevee took her place at the other end, Goomy having that lopsided smile on his face. He could NOT wait to evolve to Goodra.

"Froak." '_Fight!_' the ninja frog declared, Goomy belching dragonfire from his mouth like his larger, more powerful counterparts in Dratini and Gible.

…didn't Pikachu mention once that Ash had a Gible?

WHACK!

Goomy flinched as Eevee danced around, hitting him in the head with Tackle before trying to bait him with Baby-Doll Eyes. That fairy-type move allowed her to evolve into one in the last timeline, so all he had to do now was push her to her limits as an Eevee and-

WHACK!

Goomy began spitting fire, literally, as he stopped using Dragonbreath and used a weak, but still dangerous, flamethrower. Eevee's smacking was only making him angry. And an angry Goomy was a dangerous Goomy, as he electrocuted Eevee with a Thunderbolt, making her flinch as Goomy kept zapping her.

"Vui!" '_stop!_' she begged, sounding pained. "Eevui!" '_That hurts!_'

"Goo." 'Welcome to combat.' Goomy said, annoyed with his own body. "Goomy!" '_You have to fight to win instead of just looking pretty!_'

Goomy understood that his trainer was open-minded, willing to try anything Pokemon-related at least once. But while he could do contests, performances and other activities involving Pokemon, he was primarily dedicated to one focus: battle.

This was something Goomy could relate with. Goomys always looked to others for protection, he himself was friend and ward to an Oddish and Wooper for example, only to become Sliggoo and not need protection: any threat would be dissolved, literally. They also became loners to keep from hurting their loved ones. Once the rains came and they evolved into Goodra, they became the protectors.

Goomy rather enjoyed being a Goodra, in case you haven't noticed.

* * *

Serena watched in worry as she arrived, watching Goomy wale on Eevee with attacks. Eevee wanted to be a Syleveon for a long time, but there was no one to train against.

Nobles tended to be excluded from a lot of common things. But this...was not what she expected from a battling Pokemon.

'_Perhaps you forgot, sitting in your ivory tower, that the world is harsh, brutal and mercious_.' Not the voices again… '_You can't ignore me! I AM YOU_!'

Serena had struggled with the voices in her head for years. The doctors gave her pills to stop them from talking, but… during her first trip to Kanto, she forgot them. They overwhelmed her and she nearly ran into a Weedle and Oddish colony to find peace.

Then she met Ash. And the voices stopped fighting. They liked him, his honesty, his earnestness, his bravery (especially when her mother yelled at him; he didn't flinch at all. HIS was more terrifying) and how happy he made her feel to be treated like a normal person. The voices wanted to stay with him, too. That was the only thing they all agreed on.

'_The world was better, once_…' another of the voices, a weak and pacifist one, 'said'. So many of them…

An explosion caught all of their attention, Serena watching Goomy breathe enough dragonfire to melt ice. For such a weak dragon Pokemon, Goomy was dangerous when annoyed.

'And now you realize it?' one of the voices snarked, Serena clutching her head. Why, WHY was she cursed-

A ribbon wrapped around her hand, pink and white with blue accents. When she opened her eyes to see what it was, a Syleveon was holding her hand, smiling.

"Eon!" she said, Serena understanding. This was her Eevee. Evolved to a Fairy-type.

Explained why none of her Pokemon evolved. None of them had seen battle. None had been forced to their limit and surpass it.

Perhaps it was time to start.

* * *

Back in the Gabena Stateroom - 30 minutes later

* * *

"Fletchling." '_Goomy's INSANE. You all know that, right?_' Ash's robin asked, having heard about the battle.

"Haw." '_He wants to be a Goodra. I don't blame him._' Hawklucha said, still guarding Noibat's egg. "Lucha." '_He wants to be a powerful guardian again._'

"Fletch!" '_And beating the living hell out of Eevee helps with that?!_' she chirped indignantly. She didn't see why one of Ash's Pokemon had to beat the crap out of one of Serena's. They had Team Rocket and Team Flare for that!

…Oh. Right. They weren't here to be beaten up. Well, that ruined THAT plan.

"Fen." '_Well, it's about time!_' Fenniken said before sneezing. "Kin!' '_Sure, we run around and practice moves, but we have nothing to fight against!_'

Hawklucha grinned before a glow from the egg caught his attention. The room was hot for the sake of the egg, to encourage the egg to actually hatch. The humans had their bedrooms opened to the sea air to prevent them from overheating. But now, there would finally be a fifth Pokemon in Ash's group.

The egg glowed brighter before the egg flaked off, revealing a fuzzy, bat-like Pokemon that wasn't as annoying as Zubats and Woobats: Noibat, the Sound Wave Pokémon.

"Noi…?" '_Where… am I?_' he asked, blinking his big, cute eyes. THEN he realized where he was and where he was. And more importantly, WHAT he was.

Let us say that the Pernon Line was lucky their ships were modified with windows that DIDN'T shatter under sonic forces.

* * *

**Vermillion City Harbor - Day 18 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey - 0650 Hours Local Time**

* * *

Ash had gotten everyone he needed: Pidgeotto and Butterfree were rotated in, as was Beedrill, replacing Bulbasaur, who went back for ambassadorial duties the day before. Mimikyu stayed, as did Pikachu - not that Ash would rotate him out without reason and he usually never got one - and Charmeleon… To put it bluntly, while Charmeleon knew Ash was a good friend and battlefield commander and would obey, if Ash sent him back to the ranch, he feared for all those present if he got into a training frenzy, so he was kept.

Hell, he might even enjoy fighting water-types, now that he knew that the tail-flame thing wouldn't kill him.

But he wasn't ready for Misty dragging him through the docks, like a happy girlfriend dragging her boyfriend to something she loved. Ash, of course, stuck to the idea of celibacy and platonic friendship, no matter how hard Pikachu (and now all of the Kanto and Johto captures he had, curse Pokespeech translation!) pushed.

They were stubborn. Ash had a will of iron. He would win.

The pair finally reached the docks, finding a number of smaller boats. And one MASSIVE ship.

Topped with four massive funnels, a pair of masts and with a black and white paintjob with that red paint at the waterline, it was easily larger than the SS _Anne_, which was a luxurious and famous ship, but not designed for ocean-going voyages.

"The Royal Kalosian Mail Steamer _Olympic_!" Misty declared. "She's ancient, dragged out of the Relict Desert over 40 years ago after the Cipher War where she was just dumped. They couldn't just scrap her: public outcry and all that."

Ash had no idea what she was talking about, but at least this was familiar. She loved all things related to water in both timelines. He could admit one thing: this thing was built tougher then the Anne.

He even said it aloud, not that he noticed until Misty looked at him. "That's the second time you've mentioned that ship." she said, not looking pleased. Ash was both happy and scared. Misty was acting like he was used to. It was good in that she didn't jump at any fear that Ash would abandon her. (Not that he would)

That being said, she DID use violence. Often.

"What is it?" Misty asked, looking like she was going to pull out that mallet of hers. Or that LMG she had been carrying (and thankfully, never used) since they met.

Well, it was going to happen anyways.

"Pikapi." '_Well, you're screwed, Ash._' Pikachu summed up.

* * *

45 minutes later - Infirmary, RMS _Olympic_

* * *

Time travel.

It was almost impossible to believe, though there were tales and reports of Celebi and Dialga doing that sort of thing, but when Ash said things only members of her family would know about her (like how she liked the idea of a mermaid water show when she was 5) she had to believe him.

Celebi had the unfortunate fortune to show up and confirm it. And once she got over the shock of having a mythical Pokemon show up out of nowhere, Misty wasn't happy about it.

She screamed and raged for two minutes, Celebi wisely leaving as she did, accusing him of manipulating her before having a seizure, one of the unfortunate side-effects of having her mind effectively raped when she was a child.

Which brings us to Ash sitting beside her bed in the Olympic's infirmary, Misty asleep with an IV in her arm.

"I should have just left her in Viridian Forest." Ash said despondently.

"Pika." '_And leave her to die some death by the samurai jackass?_' Pikachu retorted as he sat beside Misty's covered legs.

He had his trainer there. "She wouldn't be like this if we didn't meet." he said, still distressed over his… friend's condition.

"Pi-chu." '_We're lucky she hasn't had a seizure before now. She was overwhelmed._' Pikachu replied. "Ka." '_She'll sort it out eventually._'

"And leave." Ash said, like he had accomplished some goal. Then again, driving Misty away was one way of keeping them from getting together. '_Mission accomplished, Ketchum_.' the dark half of his mind spat in disgust.

"Pika!" '_Not if I have any say in it! She just needs to think about it for a bit._' Pikachu said before whacking Ash in the head with his tail. "Kachu." '_Now, come on, let's explore the ship. And you need to get food into you: you haven't eaten since last night._'

"What are you, my mother?" Ash asked, getting a shock from his starter to get off his ass and move.

* * *

(Input access code: ******************** Access granted)

Entry 14: RMS _Olympic_

Built in Galar Kingdom's Hulbury shipyard over 200 years ago as the first of three ocean liners for Kalos' Golden Staryu Line, the Royal Kalosian Mail Steamer _Olympic _became the flagship of the Mail Service for decades until she finally became unprofitable 54 years later and was due to be scrapped until public outcry against the destruction of the Billionaire's Ship, as she was called. The government and company decided to teleport the ship into the Relict Desert to preserve it for 'a later date for conversion'. 130 years later, the need for ocean-going vessels following the Cipher War brought the Pernon Corporation into this, buying and refitting the ship for modern service, including welding the riveted hull plates and a new, nuclear power plant, becoming the jewel of the new Pernon Line, serving the Nihon Route from Kanto to Sinnoh, as well as limited service to Alola..

* * *

Entry 15: RMS _Germanic_

Last of the _Olympic_-Class of liners, the _Germanic _was a much-improved version of the Olympic, with new lifts and primitive welding as well as rivets for added strength. She first served as a hospital ship during the Unovan/Almian War, striking a mine, but closed watertight compartments as well as the practical function of closed portholes saved the ship, where, after the war, joining her elder sister in the service, quickly becoming as praised to the point where, when she was slated to be scrapped, outcry prevented it and she joined her sister in the deserts of Unova and was also brought back by Pernon with much the same features as the _Olympic_.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: In order: the red Magneton was Jorn's idea and the two **_**Olympics**_** are the Poke-version of the RL RMS **_**Olympic **_**and HMHS **_**Britannic**_**, the latter saved thanks to someone CLOSING THE DAMN PORTHOLES.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yes, and people are starting to get brought 'into the know' about the time travel. Expect all entries into Ash's Harem to learn about that little issue. These include all his 'core' Female Companions from Gens 1-6 (and maybe Lillie, who knows?), and will also have a few extra additions in there, which will be revealed in due time.**

**Ron the True Fan: Only I truly know… But first, time for someone to suffer.**

* * *

**Omake 2: Fools and Titans**

* * *

Daniels had tracked Ash down to a coastal town, to a large building that had some giant bird statue on it.

This timeline was messed up: it was like untangling knots trying to get rid of it.

Before he could do anything else, a bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, frying him.

Lieutenant Surge cackled from the roof as a live version of the statue roosted beside him, black and yellow feathers sparking.

"Zapdos doesn't like you!" he said to the time cop. "I don't like you either!"

Daniels blinked before the heavens unleashed thunder on him once more.

"Keep zapping him until he fries!"

Needless to say, he wasn't having a good day.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Zapdos is unconfirmed. We'll see…**

**Ja Ne!**


	12. Chapter 11: Olympic Strike

**Ron the True Fan: Take us to sea, boys. **

* * *

**RMS Olympic - 1352 hours local time - Day 21 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

Three weeks isn't a long time. Ash spent nearly 7 years on the move. But for Ash, looking back, it was like he wanted to just stop.

Hiding his secret from Misty wasn't easy, but now that she knew… well, she was still asleep.

And he had been kicked out of the infirmary more than once for visiting her. He was worried, but the doctors booted him out for one reason: she would wake up when she woke up.

Ash was forced to wander the ship and was drawn into more than one battle.

While he was out… Misty woke up.

'He tricked me.' was her first thought. True, Ash had been evasive, and had not talked about much.

"He might not have said anything, but he didn't manipulate you into anything you didn't want to do." came… her own voice?

Misty sat up to see… herself, leaning against a wall, wearing a yellow jacket with her usual outfit on. "Who…" she started before the 'other' Misty raised her hand.

"I'm not really here. I'm in your head." she 'said'. "Ash has met a LOT of people that left a psychic imprint on him. Side-effect of Mewtwo's…" she paused. "Right, you haven't been there yet."

"Mew-who?" Misty asked before groaning and laying back on the bed.

"Long story: Ash has the details. Take my advice and rest." the mental projection said. "As for Ash… well, the only worry about his intentions is that they're too honorable for your liking. He wants to be your friend. That's it." With that, she huffed. "Damned Latios. You had to make him make that oath."

Misty looked at the remnant of her other self from the last timeline. "You…"

"I loved him. Just as you're going to," the mental projection admitted. "He's just too nice for his own good. And if I didn't know better, dense as Brock's Geodude. Being in his head helped." She shrugged. "I'll tell you what we were up to. Got nothing better to do."

* * *

**RMS _Germanic_ \- near the Oblivia Region - 0754 Hours Local time**

* * *

Obvilia was one of the three Ranger Union regions. Trainers were never from here: always passing through. Here, people used capture stylers to bond with wild Pokemon.

Shadow Pokemon took poorly to that and the Rangers were put to the sword, as it were, by the corrupted creatures.

This was lost on Goomy and Sylveon as the former fired dragon attacks at her, doing nothing, but that was kinda the point. Goomy could wale on her without risk of injury and invent new ways of using the attacks he had access to.

"Let." '_You take this too seriously_.' Grace's robin said as she nested on a towel.

"Sylveon!" '_Let Goomy train! He wants to be a Goodra!_' the Eeveelution said as Goomy fired off a burst of dragon embers, looking pleased with himself.

"Goo." '_Weakness breeds creativity._' he said. Ash certainly knew that: he encouraged it in his matches, which kept him in top form.

Some would consider this idiotic. But flexibility was key: relying solely on power made you slow and predictable.

"_Attention all hands: this is your captain_." came a call over the room's intercom. "_We will be docking at Dolce Island within the hour. Relief personnel, you are requested to be ready to depart. All other passengers, for your own safety, do NOT leave the ship: there is a level 4 infestation on Dolce Island_."

"FLETCH!" '_HIDE YOUR WIVES AND DAUGHTERS_!' Grace's robin screeched as it ducked under a bed. Whatever this 'level 4' was, it was bad.

"Froak." '_I will investigate. I shouldn't be too long.' Froakie said, everyone looking at him...only for him not to be there_.

"Goomy." '_Goddamn ninja._' the snail said. "Omy." '_No one leaves this ship until we get to Kanto. That or Ash randomly appears out of nowhere_.'

"Pan." '_Well, it won't take too long to fix any of the damage the ship took during the trip_.' Pancham said as he chewed on his stick. "Cham." '_Then we can finally meet Serena's mate!_'

"Goomy." '_I prefer Ash's mates, personally_.' Goomy said knowingly.

Out of all the Pokemon from Kalos, Goomy was not the one to strongly support Serena. Instead, he supported having Misty, Serena and all of Ash's other female 'friends' being part of his family.

Goomys were polygamious. And anyone that had a Goomy line Pokemon was bound to endure their 'tastes'. It was why anyone that had a Goomy had to either train it out of them or put up with it.

Or they were Ash and focused more on learning the region's quirks.

* * *

Smoke dominated the skylines of the region. Shadow Salamances were sadly common, burning everything in sight.

And thanks to the cultural bias against the Pokeball, which was literally the only way to deal with a Shadow Pokemon, the region was basically set to burn.

Two larger ships were also docked, offloading cargo and what looked like weapons. This was going to end badly.

Froakie noticed they all had the same flag flying from their masts. The same as the flag from the Germanic's.

Someone was trying to clean up the mess. Valiant. But foolish. The violence of man would only make the Shadow worse.

Froakie didn't need all of his memories to come to that conclusion. These things seemed to thrive off death and violence.

"Go back, little one."

Froakie jumped at the gentle voice of a young woman, who stood behind him, with pale skin, a white sundress and sunhat covering white hair and green eyes. "Go back to your friends. It's not safe here." she said, sounding rather drained and sad.

But drained as she sounded, her voice was not a plea. It was a command. Almost as though it came from Ash himself. Roars from outside of the city forced him to head back regardless.

He couldn't get back if his ship sank.

* * *

**Kanto Region - near coastline between Prima Vista and Vermillion City - 1417 hours Local Time**

* * *

Team Rocket was formed over 50 years ago. Madam Boss, as she was referred to, took a bunch of thugs and reforged them into an organization whose end goal was the conquest of Kanto. Her children, Giovanni and Delia, were the heirs to this, but Delia was not only not interested in the family business, she was actively opposed to the conquest of the region.

But while the URN was long dead, Lance and Cynthia were working on bringing it back. The only way to secure Kanto was to isolate it from the other three regions. By the time they could get someone to the closest area, Johto, they could have total control of the region and have solidified their hold to repel an attack of that scale.

But they had to isolate the Ranger regions (easy, as they couldn't even help themselves) as well as Unova, Kalos and Galar. Even now, while they were still recovering from the Cipher War, they could still take down a Rocket-controlled Kanto. The Team wasn't strong enough to repulse them.

But the first step to that was making sure no one got to Kanto they didn't want to. That and crippling the only competitor in the shipping business, Pernon, would give the Team room to expand. And eventually, the ability to take over the rest of Nihon.

At least, that was the plan. Archer's plan. Giovanni was content with control of business in Kanto, terrified that his sister would get involved and destroy them. Pfft. Delia hadn't seen battle in 20 years. What threat was she?

"Sir, the guns are ready." a grunt reported as he stood before Archer looked at the tugboats they had turned into gunboats with recoilless guns and anti-tank missiles mounted to them. It wasn't GREAT, but as all the proper surplus not in use by the Kanto League Navy were in Hoenn, it would have to do.

"Ready the grunts." Archer ordered. "We're putting Pernon's pride on the bottom.'' With that, he stared at the flagship of the Pernon Line in the distance: the RMS _Olympic_.

It could take them time to get in range, but when there was a nice big hole in the ship...Well, Archer took too much pleasure in killing up-close.

* * *

**RMS _Olympic_ \- same time**

* * *

"Misty hates me." Ash said as he stared out to sea. Once more, he had been kicked out of the infirmary and told to explore the ship and have Pokemon battles. Charmeleon agreed.

Ash wasn't in the heart for it. He just let them do as they wished for training. The trainers seemed to understand, though how Ash's were able to fight like veterans of the Leagues confused them.

"Pikapi." '_It sounds like you actually want it, Ash._' Pikachu said as he sat beside his trainer. "Pi." '_And I wonder why._' Pikachu constantly teased Ash behind his back for his vow of celibacy, but he worried for his trainer.

After all, the guy was putting himself through enough stress BEFORE the time reset. A girlfriend would help with reducing his stress to something manageable, someone to confide in and...destress with.

Ash, of course, was refusing to do all the healthy things. Pikachu blamed Brock. He set all the wrong examples. He was too aggressive, too flirty and too stupid to get a hint to stop. Misty, Max and Croagunk stopped him from being too much of an idiot. While Ash was not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to romantic hints, he wasn't so stupid that it took a kiss to do it either.

It usually took him about three to four months to pick up the cues. Serena was instantaneous: he knew her, but pretended to forget about her. BIG mistake, as the kiss showed.

"Well… she'd be safer if she went home." Ash said. "Have you seen what we run into every week?"

"Pika!" '_Apply that logic to us_!' Pikachu cried. "Chu-pi!" '_You're going to be dragging US into fighting Mewtwo, that iron-masked bastard, Altomere and everything else_!'

"If not us, then who?" Ash retorted. "Who's going to keep the world from getting worse?"

It sounded so pretentious, so arrogant. But the sad part was… he wasn't being arrogant or prideful. Who WAS going to do it? Who would save the world from Lawrance III's greed and ignorance? Who would stop the Marauder from doing damage to the past and future? Who would stop the thieves from killing Latios?

Who would stop Cyrus' madness again?

"Pika…" '_Point taken. But why not have Misty and the others help?'_ the yellow starter asked.

"I've put enough people in danger over the last 6 years. She's better off finding someone to love." Ash said. "Someone better than me."

Pikachu scowled and smacked Ash with his tail, hardened by iron for good measure. His trainer was too noble and too stupid sometimes! "Pikapi!" 'S_he doesn't want someone better! She wants YOU. The idiot stupid enough to blunder into her life and take her on a whirlwind tour of the world_.'

Ash bowed his head. "Maybe she does. But I don't deserve her." he finally admitted.

Before Pikachu could try and smack sense into him, a hatch in the teak decking opened with a large gun mount coming out about five feet from them, it's barrel spinning and whirling like…

"COVER YOUR EARS!" Ash said before doing so, Pikachu following just as the whirring gun fired, a long and loud burst of fire echoing across the deck. The trainer glanced out to sea, finding a trail of light arcing towards something coming at the ship. An explosion thundered in the distance as the object was hit.

That was a rocket. Someone was attacking the ship.

"For one FUCKING day…" Ash spat, FINALLY having enough to use a far heavier curse (his Pokemon swore like sailors; it was a wonder he didn't) "Can I have some FUCKING PEACE FOR ONE FUCKING DAY?!"

Clearly, whoever was shooting at the ship disagreed, firing more missiles at the ship.

"Pika." '_Well, no rest for the wicked._' Pikachu said, waiting for the inevitable boarding action as the deck guns spun up again.

Ash sighed. The universe saw fit to have him solve _every_ problem, didn't it?

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic **_**\- C-Deck**

* * *

While the TRio sucked at many things most of the time, disguises were not their worse talent. In fact, if Ash hadn't had the near decade of experience in seeing through their many outfits, he wouldn't be able to recognize them on sight.

But they were VERY good at what they did, so they evaded detection with ease, disguised as stewards and Meowth as a Rattata hunter.

There WAS a reason Alola hunted the little bastards down, now, only letting a controlled population exist due to their uniqueness.

Back on topic, the Trio heard the hard anti-missile countermeasures going off and wondered what was going on. They told the Boss about the twirp's victory over Surge and his subsequent cruise ticket gift, so he cancelled the attack. For some reason.

They didn't ask. As stupid as they could be (and they could be VERY stupid) once the Boss gave an order, it was to be OBEYED.

"Got eyes on two tugboats." Meowth said quietly as he looked out a porthole, his Unovan accent barely audible as he looked at the two boats in question, which moved a bit too fast for your normal towing vessel. That meant modifications. "Q-boats."

"Armed boats? Well, that screams Team Rocket." Jessie said hauntily, proud of the organization she was a part of and how it would eventually conquer Kanto. "But I thought the Boss cancelled the attack. Because of the brat and all?"

"Rogues! Oooh, I hate it when that happens!" James said, the bluenette remembering the last time someone betrayed Team Rocket to try and take control.

It ended poorly, as Giovanni still controlled the mob.

"I see blue. It's Admin Archer. He's on one of the boats." Meowth reported as he dropped to the deck, James pondering.

"What do we do? Archer's our superior!" he bemoaned as another explosion rocked the ship/

"But we answer to THE Boss now! And he ordered us to keep tabs on the kid!" Jessie snapped. "We're not getting involved."

"You's got a point, Jessie: don't want to piss off the Boss." Meowth said, agreeing. Pissing off Giovanni was a bad idea. The pain never ends.

All three nodded, deciding to leave Archer to twist in the wind. They did not want to test the man in charge of the Team. Testing Giovanni was a good way to get yourself killed.

* * *

**RMS _Olympic_ Infirmary**

* * *

"Give Ash credit. At least his life is never going to be boring," Astral Misty (for lack of a better term) said as the sound of muted gunfire entered the little medical area. "A lot different from my timeline, that's for sure."

Misty groaned as she got out of bed, using a wall to steady herself. Ash might have tricked her, but he wasn't some evil mastermind. Just a confused and hurt young man.

"And where are you going?" her imprinted self asked from her position leaning near the door.

"Out. Ash needs my help." she said. "And if he's half as selfless as you say he is, he's going to get himself hurt saving this ship."

"Oh, he's far from completely selfless. Him pushing you away was him trying not to be like his father." the projection said. "But… when it comes to helping others, he'll do what he can to save the day."

Mt. Moon, the attack by Team Plasma… Saving her from the Spearows and that crazy swordsman… yes, he did tend to do that.

"Go. He needs you," the fragment said before disappearing, Misty looking around for her bag. She had a war to fight.

* * *

**Team Rocket gunboat - same time**

* * *

Optically guided missiles were impossible to jam when using trailing wires. The only way to get rid of them was to actively destroy them.

The _Olympic's _anti-piracy countermeasures included 18 radar-guided revolver cannons, which was making Archer's life suck at the moment because they were doing just that: blowing up his missiles.

It was infuriating! They had deck guns, but few shells and his people weren't sure if they wouldn't just blow off their makeshift mounts.

"Damned army-surplus bullshit." Archer said as he snarled, motioning to the deck crew. "To hell with this. Load the gun!"

"Sir, we might sink the ship firing this thing!" one of his peons said. Archer just shot him in the head for speaking up instead of obeying.

"LOAD THE GUN!" he barked, knowing the active defenses wouldn't stop a 105mm shell. And the hull was not durable enough to handle heavy cannon shells. It wasn't a warship.

Terrified into obeying, they began loading the gun.

* * *

Ash did not like this timeline.

He started to dislike it the moment he had to deal with guns being a thing, then everything started piling up on him, from Misty's condition, to Shadow Pokemon, to his ancestry to Mt Moon. In the end, he decided he HATED this timeline.

"Couldn't stop the timeline from changing, could you? Oh NO, everything had to go straight to hell!" Ash spat as he crouched and got past the midship defense guns, the loud gunfire being somewhat cancelled out between the two turrets. "I just want to go home."

Pikachu glared at his trainer. "Pikapi?!" '_Is there a reason you're complaining, Ash?_' he asked.

"Yes! I want to go back to our timeline, back home!" his trainer retorted. "Back to Alola, even if it was boring as hell, in a timeline we know!"

Ash wanted familiarity. Pikachu couldn't blame him. This timeline DID suck.

"Pika." '_Well, we got to live with it. Maybe we can get it changing for the better._' Pikachu suggested to lift his trainer's spirits. Ash snorted out a laugh.

"Maybe," he said. "But we gotta survive-"

He never finished that sentence as the ship lurched, hit by something. "Pi!" '_The hell was that?_!'

"Something those guns couldn't stop." Ash said as the ship lurched again, hit by another… whatever it was from the other side. "Oh, that's GREAT."

* * *

Proton was not an idiot. He read between the lines: an operation cancelled on either sinking or seizing the _Olympic_? Ash fucking Ketchum, son of that bitch Delia (and he was STILL smarting at that kick between the legs and it had been 20 Arceusdamned years!) was on that ship. So when Archer decided to go through with the op, he went along to help.

Or rather 'kill Delia's spawn because he knew better then to go after the bitch herself'. While Archer thought Delia was out of the game, she was NOT. Her Pokemon were still well-trained and fit for combat and she… well, no one wanted to remember THAT incident from 8 years ago.

"Put that out of your head, Proton," the admin said to himself. "Just keep shooting."

They had already punched through two compartments. Four more and the ship would be doomed. '_Ah_, five.' Proton thought, reminded that this was not the _Olympic's_ ill-fated sister. '_They made it harder to sink_.'

And while she was sinking, they would loot the saferooms and passengers. Proton, of course, was more interested in killing the boy.

The gun fired again, but the mount snapped, the rusting metal not able to handle the recoil, the cannon falling to the deck, making the converted tugboat begin to tip over.

"Get to the boats! We're boarding that ship!" Proton ordered as the grunts ran for the assault rafts, fearing for their lives.

Ketchum would die and his parents' legacy would die with him.

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic **_**\- Bridge - 1421 hours Local Time**

* * *

Captain Hiroshi Sakurai was an old hand in the Pernon Line, used to fending off would-be pirate lords on the seas.

Team Rocket was new to him. Well, new in the sense that they were after Pernon's big ships.

"Report!" he demanded as the ship started to go down by the bow, holed in six places by anti-tank guns.

"Flooding is pretty bad, Captain," his XO said as he ran back into the wheelhouse. "We've got water up to E-Deck. We're evacuating everyone to the safe areas, but bulletproof armor won't do them any good if we sink!"

"I know, damn it," Hiroshi said before the radio operator came in, practically screaming bloody murder.

"Sir! Sir!" she sputtered as she came in, smacking into the telegraph base, hurting herself. The captain got her to her feet as she held her side.

"What is it?" he asked sternly. He wasn't in the mood for surprises.

"Call… radio…" she muttered before he put her on the decking, going to the radio room, mindless of the increasing angle of the deck. While the old Morse Code transmitter was long gone, the Marconi Room was still home to the ship's telecommunications, including a refurbished army-surplus radio.

Working for the top tech man in the world had its pluses.

"_Hello? Hey, lady! Where are you_?!" came a voice from the radio speakers, making Hiroshi scowl. He knew that voice.

Archie Aogiri. It was bad enough the bastard was the leader of Team Aqua, Hoenn's aquatic ecoterrorists. What made it worse was that he was from Orre. No one trusted anyone from there. Even people with their blood were scorned.

But more importantly, the bastard wanted the _Olympic _as his aquatic base.

…Well, that was one way to get help, as Hiroshi picked up the mic. "This is Captain Hiroshi Sakurai. What do you want, Archie?"

"_Ah, the man in charge! Good_!" came the voice of the Aqua Boss. "_You seem to have a Rocket problem, Captain_!"

"What are you doing here, Aogiri? You're a long way from Hoenn." Sakurai demanded.

"_You know I want that ship. Perfect place to live out Lord Kyogre's enlarging of the seas. And I can't have it if it sinks_," Archie replied. "_Refloating it isn't as easy as teleporting it out of a desert_."

"You want the ship? You'll have to take it from Team Rocket first," the captain replied.

"_That's the idea, Captain_…"

* * *

**Team Aqua submarine U-2003 - same time**

* * *

"That's the idea," Archie finished as he looked at his crew, eager to claim what was theirs as the sub surfaced, speeding towards the ocean liner.

"We're taking that ship! For Lord Kyogre!" he cried.

"FOR LORD KYOGRE!" came the reply.

* * *

Entry 16: Team Aqua

Founded by Archie Aogiri in AS35, the ecoterrorist organization known as Team Aqua (a moniker given to them by visitors from Kanto due to their similarities to Team Rocket, but entirely unrelated) has but one goal: expansion of the seas to make room for more water-type Pokemon.

Rocket psychologists have tied this to Archie being born in the desert region of Orre, where water is exceedingly rare outside of oases and the Pacific Ocean coastline, but without confirmation from Archie himself, we will not know. Rocket operatives are ordered to stop all Aqua operations when possible. Their self-destructive goals are not in the best interest of Team Rocket.

* * *

Entry 17: The Ranger Union

In the distant past, the Ranger Union was once the enemy of the Trainer nations due to their hate of the Pokeball, but the regions of Fiore, Almia and Obiliva were the first and easiest targets of Cipher during the Shadow War, taking advantage of their lack of trainers and Pokeballs, which were the only things to contain the Shadow Pokemon.

The Ranger way is all but extinct, as Shadow Pokemon cannot have their emotional states soothed. In fact, the styler effect only makes them angrier, which is saying something, as they are murderous monsters. The Pernon Corporation, in conjunction with the Kingdom of Rota, have attempted to reclaim the regions by force, but to date, only a small foothold has been made in each region. The locations have been declared off-limits except to relief personnel due to the sheer amount of Shadow Pokemon.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Shorter than I'd like, but honestly, this chapter was made for one reason: filler. …Which is kinda what I think of the entire SS **_**Anne **_**thing in the anime as well, when I think about it.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, the SS **_**Anne**_ **arc WAS filler, honestly. I mean, yeah, it was action-packed filler, but it was still filler. Then again, the Gen 1 games were rather lackluster in terms of plot. **

**Ron the True Fan: It was a **_**Game Boy cart**_**. Those only fit so much shit in them. It took VERY clever programming on Iwata-sama's part (ETERNAL RESPECT) for **_**Gold **_**and **_**Silver **_**to be so big.**

**Takeshi Yamato: True enough, but when they made the anime, obviously they needed to expand it. Hence, all those different filler arcs and all the times when Ash and co. got lost. Newer games have more plot, yes, but still not quite enough for an anime. We can have fewer filler arcs now, but Ash and co. **_**still**_ **get lost quite a bit. And, of course, Alola's a smaller region, so less game plot, which means more filler. I can only wonder how they'll handle Galar in the anime.**

**Ron the True Fan: Hopefully not as poorly as the fans received intel of the game on launch.**

**Ja Ne!**


	13. Chapter 12: Olympic Rising

**Ron the True Fan: Team Aqua's in Kanto. The least evil teams, if only because they have good intentions. You know the line: road to hell's paved with them.**

**Takeshi Yamato: True enough. Let's get going.**

* * *

**RMS Olympic - 1428 hours local time - Day 21 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

Ash adjusted his footing as the guns stopped firing and the deck angle went downward, towards the bow.

"Not again. This is why I didn't want to go on the ship!" he said as he gathered Pikachu up in his arms.

"Pika." '_I know. But we're here, so we should save the day._' his starter said as he got onto Ash's shoulder. "Pikapi?" '_Right, Ash?_'

Ash let out a weary sigh. "I hate this timeline." he said before a hook shot past him, clattering to the deck before reeling back, securing itself on the railing. "Oh, crap."

Ash rushed to the hook, trying to dislodge it before coming face to face moments later with a Rocket Grunt, who stared at him for a second before she seemed to recognize him… then a look of terror and fear appeared on her face before she pushed back on the line, screaming in terror as she fell to the ocean below. Other grunts that got up the deck also saw him and bolted, one smacking into a lifeboat davit and falling to the ocean. Head first.

"Ka?" '_What the actual f_-'

"Wish I knew." Ash said, grabbing onto and dislodging the grappling hook with difficulty, twisting the thing through the railing bars. Two grunts screamed as they fell into the waters, which explained why it was so hard to move. "We need to get off this deck. Come on!"

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic **_**\- Bridge**

* * *

"Tell our security people to focus on keeping the areas to the bridge and engine room secure." ordered Hiroshi as he tried to formulate a plan. "We're not letting those Rockets sink this ship and sure as hell not giving it to the Aquas."

"No, sir. So… let them deal with the Rockets and we deal with the survivors?" his XO asked, as another 'bang' resulted in another hole in the hull. "We're gonna need to deal with those guns, sir."

"One problem at a time. Maybe the Aquas'll deal with them, too." Hiroshi said. Suddenly, the lights dimmed. "They cut the power."

"No power, no pumps. We'll have to seal off more areas of the ship."

"Just fucking great." he spat.

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic **_**\- A Deck, port side promenade - 1440 Hours Local Time**

* * *

"You know the boss is going to kill us, right?" asked one grunt as he made his way inside, gun held out in front of him.

"Don't know," said his partner. "All I know is Archer ordered us to search the ship, find the passengers, loot them and shoot them." It was the plan. Take what could be taken, kill the passengers, sink the ship, leave no survivors.

"This'll make us rich, right?" the first grunt asked, opening a door, walking into a suite before the door slammed into him, with a trainer coming out and tackling the grunt, slamming him into the glass windows keeping them from the outside, knocking out the poor bastard.

The grunt glared at the trainer, ready to fire, before noticing something about the attacker. Black hair, reddish-brown eyes…

'Shit! It's Ketchum!' he thought, knowing the Boss wanted him alive for some reason. If he killed the Ketchum kid, the punishment would be… extreme.

That hesitation cost him the initiative, Ketchum tackling him, grappling for the gun in his hands. The grunt let go with his left hand, punching the kid in the face, but Ash pulled on the right, dragging him down to the deck as the two fought for the gun.

The Rocket grunt got away, still holding the gun, but he was hit with a bolt of lightning that stunned him, briefly seeing a yellow rat as he struggled to stay upright.

Ketchum's Shadow Pikachu. Who looked like he wanted him dead.

Ketchum tackled him, pinning his gun arm to his chest. It was the last thing he knew as the finger involuntarily squeezed the trigger.

* * *

BANG!

Ash stared dumbly, not feeling any pain from the bullet. Then he saw where the gun was pointing.

At the grunt's chin.

Blood leaked from the wound onto the Rocket uniform, more bled from the top of his head, making his beret smell like iron and copper. Ash backed away, horrified.

"I… I… I-" he muttered before Pikachu whacked the back of his head with his tail.

"Pikapi!" '_Ash, get your head together! You did not kill him!_' his starter stated. "Ka." '_Even if you did, he was trying to kill you. You had-_'

"I don't kill." Ash snapped, before realizing his tone. "Sorry."

"Pika." '_Ash, you've had this problem since we got here. I'm not offended._' Pikachu said back. "Chu." '_But still, even if you did kill him, it was self-defense._' Pikachu sighed, jumping back to the deck. "Pi." '_And if you didn't,_ I _would have._'

"What?!" Ash cried out, staring at Pikachu. "Pikachu, you can't-"

"Pika!" '_Can and will. You are more important to me and the others than any mindless grunt employed by Giovanni, Ghetsis or Lysandre. If we have to kill to keep you safe, so be it._' Pikachu said and vowed, every word being as serious as Ash's vow to make the women in his life happy without being their significant other.

"…I still don't like it. Killing is just… wrong." Ash whispered. But Pikachu heard it.

"Pikapi…" '_Ash, I know. I don't like it either, but to defend you is the only reason I will. If I can take them out without ending them, I'll do it. But when push comes to shove…_' Pikachu trailed off, Ash getting his meaning.

"We can't stay here." Ash finally said. "We have to kick them off this ship and keep it from sinking."

"Pika?" '_Bad memories of the _Anne_?_' Pikachu asked rhetorically.

"Very." Ash said as they left the body of the grunt and his unconscious partner.

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic**_ **\- C-Deck dining saloon - 1442 hours local time**

* * *

The security people were giving all they had, but the rockets outnumbered them six to one.

So someone decided to help out.

A grunt slammed into a wall, hit by high-pressure water from a brown starfish with a jewel, Misty poking her head out from her cover. "Nice one, Staryu!" she complimented, the tired starfish sagging, but unbroken.

They had been fighting since the Rockets started to board, delaying them as much as possible so the security teams could regroup and get ready to fight back.

She would have shot them, after all, self-defense and all, but…

"Nice. Ash and I did that a lot to Jessie and James back in the old days." her astral counterpart said. She was the only reason none of these murderers got what was coming to them.

She nearly pulled out her big gun, which she hadn't used since she met Ash, but her mental self frowned on it, so she didn't. Since then, the Pokemon were knocking them out of the fight.

But they were tiring. She would have to give them potions and ethers (the homemade kind made from berries, as the professional-grade stuff was… expensive) before going on the attack again. At least they could be applied while they were in the Pokeballs.

So Misty returned Staryu to her ball, joining everyone but Psyduck… who was hiding under a table.

"Psy-ay-ay…" '_Leave me alone! I already need to change my feathers: what more do you want?!_' the duck quacked.

"Still a pain, my timeline or yours." Astral Misty said, shaking her head. Then gunfire tore into the room, hitting the beautiful panelling and grazing Misty's left shoulder before she ducked behind a broken oak table.

"Well, well…" said a man wearing a modified black Rocket uniform, with teal hair and eyes, holding the machine pistol version of the Rocket's usual sidearm with its' stock and extended detachable magazine. "Misty fucking Waterflower. Your sisters are always such a pain in the ass."

"And who the hell are you?!" Misty barked back, the usual fire Ash was used to back in full force. Her astral self whooped, not that the Rocket noticed.

"Archer Apollo, Administrator of Team Rocket." the man, Archer, said almost politely. "The Boss wanted to cancel this attack, like he was content with the League's scraps. But now that I know you're here, I know damn well why." He fired again, the oak table stopping the rounds from reaching Misty, but she couldn't stay here.

"The Ketchum brat! His father was enough of a problem, but he's dead now thanks to that overgrown Shadow bird." Archer ranted, his gun clicking empty before he snarled, yanking the magazine out. "But he's still scared of dear old Delia. Well, I'm not!" He slammed another one in, pulling the trigger.

Nothing happened. Archer forgot to chamber a round.

"Damn it!" he snapped, all of his attention on the weapon while Misty snuck to another table, one with a cloth covering it for extra protection.

Misty knew fighting Archer would be a tall, annoying order, not to mention potentially dangerous.

"You can't hide! I will find you, you little bitch!" Archer spat before releasing three Pokemon, one barking, another howling.

The other was silent, but the smell… two dogs and a Koffing, if the sulfurous stench was right.

"You're not leaving this room alive! Houndour, Houndoom, find her!" he ordered, giving Misty the names of the dog Pokemon.

Well, that made things harder and easier. They were both dark-types, meaning Starmie would have a hard time with them using Bite or Dark Pulse.

But they were also fire-types...and she had a lot of water-types. Even if they were trained like an Elite Four's, she had a chance.

Elite level or not, fire could still be put out by water.

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic**_ **\- B-Deck - Reading Room**

* * *

Ash ducked into the reading room, Pikachu jumping down from his shoulder.

"Pika." '_This is a horrible spot for a fight._' Pikachu deadpanned.

"We're passing through: just to get to the other side of the ship." Ash retorted. "We gotta get those boats away from the ship before we try and save it."

Ash's plan was to sink those gunboats, but first he had to get to one of the gangway hatches to get a better shot at rather, for Pikachu to get a better shot at them. Shadow Bolt would sink them and the rockets would be stuck on the water.

And the only way to the gangways was through the reading room according to the map he had and Pikachu was reading from. His early years in Kanto, Johto and Hoenn forced him to learn how to read a map.

If he ever got his hands on one, which was...rare.

"Let's get-" ash said before he was interrupted by the sound of rapid bangs, with him and Pikachu taking cover behind a bookshelf, which thankfully kept them from getting shot.

"Ketchum!" snapped an angry man with green hair as he reloaded the machine pistol. "You're going to pay for what your mother did to me, you little bastard!" He continued firing, right before it jammed. Ash broke cover and lunged at the man, knocking the gun out of his hands as they fell to the floor, Ash delivering a right hook into his jaw.

He forced Ash off, punching the young man in the gut before grabbing him and slamming his knee into Ash's face. "Mistake, boy." he spat, blood leaking from his mouth. "You're no hero. You're dead. And after I kill you, your mother's next."

"And-" Ash coughed out, getting air back into his lungs. "Who are you?"

The man scoffed. "Well, might as well entertain your question. Admin Proton Milas of Team Rocket." he said. "Now-"

He never finished his sentence as Pikachu thunderbolted him, forcing him to fall into a leather chair, which tipped over and made him fall ass over head.

"PIKA!" '_LIKE HELL YOU'RE TOUCHING MY BROTHER!_' Pikachu roared as Proton shook off the electrocution, though not as well as Ash.

"Fucking rat!" he pulled out a pokeball, but Pikachu shocked him again before he could release anything. "Fine! I'll fucking kill you with a knife if I have to!"

Ash then remembered he still had the swords he took from the Samurai way back in Viridian Forest. Pikachu zapped Proton once more while Ash dropped his bag, finding the two weapons easily before drawing the shorter one.

Proton finally got up, snarling before seeing Ash holding the long, metal weapon in his hands, held with shaking hands and arms. And all he did was laugh.

"Stupid brat. You don't even know how to use that damn thin-" Proton said before Ash swung wildly, cutting Proton's left arm, making the man cry out in surprise before attempting to knife Ash back with some old bayonet, but Ash was smaller and faster, dodging the swipes, if barely.

"The only way you're going to stop me is to kill me and you don't have the stomach for it!" Proton raved as he overcommitted a downward stab that missed before Ash charged.

And ran him through.

Proton gasped as he felt the blade go through his back, missing his spine, but hurting nevertheless.

Ash then drew the blade out and clubbed him over the head with the pommel, knocking him out.

"Pikapi?" '_Is he dead?_' Pikachu asked as Ash walked back to the backpack he dropped and put the sword away, sighing.

"No. I won't kill him. But he's not going anywhere. Not like this. Besides, he'll survive." he said, putting the back over his shoulders. "I won't kill. But they're not going to come out of it smelling like roses."

"Pika!" '_THAT we can agree on!_' Pikachu cried as Ash took Proton's gun, Pokeball belt and knife. If he was getting up, he wasn't going to do any damage.

* * *

**Pallet Town - Kanto Region - 1443 hours local time**

* * *

Delia Ketchum hummed as she kneaded dough for a rather large loaf of bread to go with the stew that was boiling on the stovetop when she heard the vidphone ring.

And not the usual cheerful tone. It was the other one. The one her brother liked to play when they were younger.

Delia stopped her work, then wiped her hands clean before answering it. "What in the hell do YOU want, Giovanni?" she snapped, not happy to see her elder brother's face.

"_Nice to see you, too, Delia._" Giovanni said somewhat meekly. Delia was always the more terrifying of the two siblings and that had not completely faded.

After all, Giovanni was just a gym leader. Highest rated one in Kanto, but still a gym leader.

Delia could still kick his ass.

Being ex-Elite Four allowed that to happen.

"Answer my question, Giovanni. You never call unless some Rocket nonsense is passing through Pallet Town and you want me to not turn your grunts into mulch for Oak's gardens." Delia replied. "I told you to stay away from me and my family."

"_That's the thing, little sister…_" Giovanni said, making Delia's face turn from a mere frown to an all-out scowl. He never called her 'little sister' except to drop some kind of bomb on her.

"Giovanni, you have 30 seconds to start talking before I have Mimey teleport me to Indigo Plateau and I tell Lance everything you've been up to." Delia threatened.

"_Proton and Archer attacked the RMS _Olympic_._" Giovanni said very quickly, much to Delia's confusion.

"Ball-less and Scaredy?" Delia said, referring to her nicknames for Proton and Archer respectively. "What about-"

"_Ash is on the _Olympic_!_" Giovanni cried, looking terrified out of his mind. For good reason.

Delia was a force of nature. A family curse: a terrible temper. Giovanni had it, she had it, even Belladonna and Ash had it. Motherhood only focused her rage towards that which would harm her children.

Bell and Ash just hadn't found the right method to focus it yet and Red and Yellow hadn't had their first 'anger moment'. But that was beside the point. Because now she was pissed. And whatever pissed her off was GOING TO DIE.

"…Your men." Delia ground out. "Are trying… to kill… MY SON?!"

"_I ordered them to break off the attack the moment his name was added to the passenger list!_" Giovanni snapped, his own temper showing. "_I knew this would be your reaction! I am many things, but I will never kill family, either with my own hands or by proxy._"

"Right now, I DON'T CARE, _brother_." Delia all but snarled. "If Ash has even one STRATCH on him, your little mafia _dies_. Do you understand me?!"

Giovanni's form on the screen sagged in defeat. "_I pray to Arceus that they fail._" he finally said.

"Damn well better." Delia said before ending the call.

"Who was that, mom?" came the unexpected voice of Yellow, making her jump and look to see her daughter, dressed in her usual outfit, including her sunhat and holding a Rowlet doll.

"Oh, no one, sweety." Delia lied. "Just a friend."

Yellow stared at her blankly, then left the kitchen after grabbing a cherry tomato from the fridge.

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic**_ **\- C-Deck Dining Saloon**

* * *

Houndour sniffed around, trying to find the scent of the human female his master wanted. He didn't ask questions. He obeyed.

Then he was grabbed by a yellow pair of hands, which kept him from barking.

"Psy." '_First and last warning._' the Psyduck said, the usual dopy as hell look vanishing in favor of PURE HATE. "Duck." '_Stay. Away. From. My. Trainer._'

Fun thing about dark-types. They're immune to direct psychic attacks. Psybeam and the like does nothing.

That being said, nothing protects them against psychically held items like the large knife that just started floating towards his-

Houndour promptly fainted in terror.

* * *

Houndoom snorted out fire as he searched the room, his master demanding results. The girl would either die or warm his master's bed. He didn't care which.

He then heard something under one of the burning tables. The horned dog then went under, finding nothing but a squawking Wingull, flapping wings in place.

The water-bird then began hopping away, Houndoom snarling as he followed, only for the table to collapse on top of him, pinning him.

"Hya." '_Surprise._' said a Staryu before Rapid Spinning into his skull with a sickening CRACK.

* * *

Archer let Koffing patrol around him, the dopy Pokemon preparing to emit poisonous gas at any moment.

"Where the hell is that little bitch?" he spat before a bullet shot past his head, grazing his ear before he focused on the shooter, a massive man wearing a Team Aqua uniform.

If a Team Aqua tattoo, blue pants and gloves could be called a uniform, with an old anti-material rifle as his weapon of choice.

The round was a full inch from his head and it STILL hurt Archer, such as he couldn't hear from his right ear.

"Archer!" yelled the massive man. "I thought I lost you back in Lilycove two years ago!"

"Go to hell, Ushio!" Archer yelled as he took cover before firing the machine pistol wildly to get his opponent into cover himself.

"That's right! Matt Ushio's the name and I'm going to kick your ass for what you did to my Sharpedo, you son of a bitch!" the Aqua Admin yelled as he fired the rifle again.

"Nothing personal! Hoenn Pokemon are big money in Johto and Kanto!" Archer retorted as he reloaded, the table cracking as the round spot straight through. Archer winced as he got up and ran as the angry man tried to hit him again.

Seriously, the guy took it too seriously. The Rocket then tripped, smacking into the half-open door and hitting his head on the bulkhead wall.

A Staryu then span into Matt's head, stunning him, but not knocking him out of the fight before the little bitch Archer was looking for knocked the big man into a burning table, breaking a wine bottle in the process.

The Aqua Admin then caught fire, but Archer didn't see anything else as a Starmie used confusion, slamming him into the wall before he lost consciousness.

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic**_ **\- D-Deck - Aft Grand Staircase**

* * *

This attack wasn't supposed to be happening. The Boss called it off over a week ago.

And she knew why: it wasn't common knowledge outside the admins, but Delia Ketchum being the Boss' sister and Ash Ketchum being his eldest nephew explained much.

But Archer and Proton did not like Ash. Archer had the Mt Moon thing, which he was pissed over. Proton was still pissed over the Pokemon Tech attack being foiled by Ash and had issues with Delia, but wasn't stupid enough to attack her.

Agent Domino ducked behind a column, looking for the boy in question. She had to protect him from Proton and Archer or else Giovanni would kill her. The blonde spy peeked around the pillar, mindful of the ship's slow downward pitch. The ship was sinking now. She had to get Ash off this ship before it did.

A loud crack interrupted her thoughts as a bullet slammed into the column, norrowly stopped by the thick oak it was made of from going through and killing her.

"Well, well. A Rocket spy." said a woman with black hair wearing a… revealing version of the Team Aqua uniform as Domino pulled out her own sidearm. "This is the second time your team's interfered in our operations. Matt's still not over his lost Sharpedo."

"I had nothing to do with that!" Domino snapped. "Look, I'm here to get an asset off this ship! You can deal with Archer and Proton if you want, just leave me be, Shelly!"

The Aqua Admin, Shelly, scoffed. "And why would I do that?" she asked. "Whatever is good for you is better served by Team Aqua."

"One, your plan is stupid, two, if he dies, Team Rocket dies!" Domino retorted, blind firing the weapon at Shelly, he took cover behind the staircase itself, bullets narrowly missing the Aqua admin.

"And why should I care about that?!" Shelly yelled as she fired back, Domino breaking cover and heading up a floor, Shelly following her while shooting.

"You want Delia Ketchum trying to kill you?! It's _her son_ I'm trying to rescue, _idiot_!" the Rocket spy said, knowing every trainer that was around prior to Belladonna Ketchum's birth knew Delia's history as an Elite Four member.

Shelly froze, the threat of Delia Ketchum going after Team Aqua for preventing her son's escape from the sinking ship enough to make her freeze. Then flee, likely to inform her boss that Ash was there and to leave before Delia decided to utterly annihilate all of them to the tune of Here Comes the Bride.

Delia hid it well, but she had a twisted sense of humor.

Domino sighed in relief before the ship lurched forward and downward, making her fall on her ass.

* * *

**Outside the RMS **_**Olympic**_

* * *

Archer awoke to the sharp, stinging sensation of impacting the sea, dumped overboard by persons unknown.

…Correction: he knew damn well who dumped him out that hatch.

"WATERFLOWER, YOU FUCKING BITCH!" he screamed before he saw Matt fall out, still on fire, screaming, jumping out of the ship.

On top of him.

Archer yelped as he was pushed under, seawater burning his eyes as Matt struggled to get afloat, likely in searing pain from being burned. Archer barely got away from the Aqua Admin, who roared in pain as he surfaced.

The Rocket Admin didn't particularly care, swimming for shore. It would take a while. But the attack was a failure: Team Aqua was sinking the gunboats with their old submarine's gun, putting holes in the gunboats on the port side. Eventually, they would dive, go to the starboard side and sink the rest.

Archer seethed with rage, going for shore. He'd get revenge for this.

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic**_ **\- E-Deck, Compartment 10**

* * *

Ash got to the gangway just in time to see some old sub start sinking everything, so he decided to go below decks to see if there was some way to stop the ship from sinking.

"Pikapi?" '_Ash, you know this is insane, right?_' Pikachu asked as starter and trainer got closer to the hole in the hull.

"I'm not letting this ship sink. There's got to be a way to seal the holes and stop the water." Ash said as they entered the hold where the water was coming from, with what looked like steel patches and rivets near the hatchway. Someone tried to patch the holes and gave up.

Ash was not in the habit of giving up. He would seal that hole and thus retrieved a Pokeball from his belt.

"Butterfree, I choose you!" he called, releasing the butterfly Pokemon from his ball.

"Free!" '_What's going on, Ash?_' he asked.

"We need to stop this ship from sinking. There's a lot of holes and we need to patch them." Ash said as he began lifting one of the patches, struggling with it.

Butterfree used his psychic might to begin lifting the plate. "Butterfree." '_You secure them, I'll lift them._' the butterfly said as Pikachu jumped on what looked like some kind of air pump.

"Pika!" '_An arc welder! I can power it and Ash can weld the plates in place!_' Pikachu exclaimed, Ash getting a brief migraine as he remembered that he knew how to solder, which was pretty close to welding.

Butterfree pushed the plate against the hole with his mind, struggling against the water flowing in, but it strained the bug-type, as his psychic might was barely enough.

"Free…" '_Ash… hurry…_' he begged as Ash grabbed a pair of welding goggles, putting them over his eyes before taking in a breath and going underwater, firing up the welding torch as Pikachu charged it, running the welder over the edges of the plate, fusing the two pieces of metal together, leaving no gaps he could see.

But the hole was too big for one plate. He was only slowing it down.

Welding these would take time.

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic **_**\- Bridge**

* * *

"Pumps are back online and those Team bastards are leaving." the XO reported as the board in the back of the wheelhouse lit up, showing where the ship was holed.

Hiroshi looked at the damage, seeing nine out of the ship's sixteen compartments having suffered damage. "Those pumps will only delay our sinking. Get ready to evacuate the passengers: we-"

The board then changed lights as Compartment 9's status changed as the light turned green, showing the damage repaired.

Someone was fixing the damage.

"Who in the hell?" he asked.

"Captain, the security chief is reporting one of the passengers opening a sealed hatch and heading for Compartment 8…" the comms officer said, confusion on her face. "With an arc welder?"

"He closed that hatch with the emergency patching equipment." Hiroshi said with some amount of awe. "How many Electric/Water types and Psychics are in the security roster?"

"One Chinchou for emergency welding operations and two Kadabra for putting the plating in place and reducing the water flow." his XO reported.

"Get them to Compartment 8! I want that hole sealed! Pump the water out of compartment 9, NOW!" the captain roared. "We might just be able to save this ship after all."

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic**_ **\- Compartment 8, D-Deck, above former Boiler Room 4, now Cargo Hold 8**

* * *

The water came up to his waist and was cold, but Ash wasn't letting that slow him down. He was unwilling to let this ship go to the bottom.

"Pikapi…" '_You're insane, you know that?_' Pikachu asked once more as water hit his back paws.

"Right now, sanity is overrated." Ash retorted. "Besides, after nearly seven years of legendary after legendary, team after team, you think we're still completely sane?"

"…Pi." '_Good point._' Pikachu admitted as they went through another hatch, seeing their way below completely filled with water. "Chu." '…_Crap._'

"How long can you hold your breath?" Ash asked mock-cheerfully as he sighed. "We still need to patch the hole."

"Pika." '_I won't last down there any longer then you will and Butterfree_-' Pikachu said before Ash took a breath and dived through the flooded hatch. "Pikapi!" '_Arceusdamn it, Ash_!'

* * *

Water.

One of the things life needs most. But what gives life can take it. Ash knew this all too well.

Ash could hold his breath for six minutes. It took him a long time to master how to conserve air. May and Manaphy extended that with Life Transfer, but he had six minutes to seal that breach. Because he couldn't breathe underwater.

Pikachu could hold it longer, for fifteen, due to his nature as a Pokemon.

If they couldn't seal the hole, they were dead.

Butterfree was waiting above, using Pikachu and Ash as his eyes to guide the plating into position. There was just one problem: the damage to the hull in this section meant the plating would have to be welded on from the outside.

If Ash failed, he would drown. If he succeeded, he would be trapped outside the ship.

The Chosen One got to work as he began welding the plate to the hull.

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic**_ **\- B-Deck Port Promenade Deck**

* * *

Misty had a hard time finding Ash.

"Where, oh where did our idiot go?" her astral self said as Misty ran through the promenade, noticing something off about the pitch of the ship. The stern was no longer going up. It was like the ship was stabilizing.

"The ship's taken too many holes. How is it righting…" Misty muttered before realizing it. "Ash!"

"Did he adopt a martyr complex since he left Kanto for Alola?" Astral Misty asked before her real self pulled out Archer's machine pistol, still loaded and shot out the window, glass falling to the seas below.

"Are you fucking CRAZY?!" her past self asked before Misty looked out of the window and saw flashes just below the waterline fifty feet aft. Ash was welding plates to the hull, keeping the ship from sinking by patching the holes so the pumps could get it out.

He was also going to drown doing it.

"Is _he _crazy?!" her projection snapped before Misty pulled out a Pokeball.

"If he is… we need him." Misty said before jumping into the sea.

* * *

The hole was closed, but Ash could barely see it. His vision was blurred, his lungs were burning, he could barely think.

It was over. Ash was dying.

And his only regret was watching the world die and not being able to stop it again.

Maybe Pikachu and the others… could…

The last thing Ash saw was something blue moving towards him from the deep before blacking out.

* * *

Gyarados roared as he surfaced, Misty exhaling as she held Ash in her arms, seemingly lifeless.

"This is familiar." her astral self said as she looked at Ash. "I had to give him CPR after the Shamouti thing."

She turned Ash onto his stomach, with her… boyfriend? …coughing up water, spitting it out of his lungs.

His coughing stopped, water still in his lungs. Misty would not have that.

She leaned forward to put her mouth on his, but water was pulled out of his lungs by psychic power, his mouth having a column of seawater erupt from it before being shoved into the sea.

"Free…" said a surprising voice, Misty looking up to see Ash's Butterfly barely aloft, visibly tired. The butterfly then dropped onto Gyarados' head. Ash then began coughing properly, wheezing for air.

"Damn it. I thought you'd take his first kiss by saving his life." her astral self groused before Misty blushed heavily.

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic**_ **\- En Route to Porta Visa, former Nihon Naval Shipyard - 1614 hours local time**

* * *

The _Olympic_, thanks to the heroic efforts of the Prince of Rota and in no small part to the serious redesign of the ship after her younger sister's sinking, was safely afloat once more.

Four of the breached compartments were still open to the sea and there was serious fire damage to the upper decks, but the ship was still sailing.

Even if every member of the crew was staring at the forecastle and how dangerously close the prow and anchor winch were to touching the water.

Right now, Ash just wanted to rest. This was very close to adding another tally to the number of times he died and he still felt half-dead.

"Pika." '_That was horrible._' Pikachu said, his fur still wet from the time in the ocean. He had to climb up Gyarados to escape. "Pikapi…" '_And Misty was so close to giving you a kiss…_'

"Pikachu… Misty deserves SO much better." Ash retorted.

"Pika." '_Like who, that crossdressing freak from the Orange Islands?_' Pikachu retorted.

Ash shuddered. That 'gym leader' (Orange Islands, so technically, it didn't count) creeped the living hell out of him when he started doing that. "I hate to admit it, but even I'm a better choice then he is." he said.

The door opened, Misty walked in, a previously unknown member of her little Poke-family sitting on her shoulder as a Wingull looked at him. "Hi." she said, hands behind her back.

Ash was really tired of Misty being shy. She was supposed to be angry, yelling, all that sort of thing. "…Hey." he answered back.

"So… I know what you've been through-" she started before Ash coughed. "It's complicated-"

"Can't be more complicated than me being from an alternate timeline, trying to save the universe from some genocidal madman." Ash said, almost amused.

"Mewtwo."

Ash froze at Misty saying that name. And immediately, his mind returned to that damned day on New Island.

(_Two beings of insane power, one created by some scientist somewhere, one the origin-mother of all Pokemon, prepared to erupt pure power at one another. Ash couldn't stand it and ran between the energy blasts. "BOTH OF YOU STOP!" he cried. His last words as they impacted him, resulting in his death_)

"…How do you know that name?" Ash asked, his voice distant and haunted. Remembering how you died did that to you.

"You won't believe it, but… when you… died on New Island, Mewtwo and Mew made you… well, there's no way to say it." Misty said. "You had a psychic imprint of me from your timeline. And she's stuck to me."

…That was not the weirdest thing Ash had run into. Rather mundane, actually, when compared to alternate universes, time travel and whatever Sabrina did after the first time he lost against her.

Not something he wanted to relive.

"Yeah… I can believe it, sadly." he finally admitted after a moment. "Believe me, psychic nonsense is something I had to deal with in every region at _least_ once."

Misty stared blankly before blinking, as if she heard some glib comment from someone only she could hear. "Sabrina." she said.

"Yeah, that was weird. And you don't want to know about the other regions." Ash said.

"Actually, she… told me everything. She WAS around you the entire time." Misty said, Ash's face going white as a sheet.

Well, _that_ was going to make an interesting conversation later.

* * *

**Oblivia Region - Roughly the same time**

* * *

Shadow Pokemon were all on the ground, either wounded, dead or dying from their rampage against the humans and normal Pokemon of the region, what few of them were left.

"Goom." '_That sucked._' Goomy said as he used Rain Dance to make himself feel better.

While the battle was brief, mainly once those human military people got involved, it was brutal.

Hawlucha had the bright idea to join the fight. He called it training for the Kanto League. Now he was nursing about a dozen broken bones and the headache from hell. They were lucky to get out of that with their lives.

Serena even used some crazy crossbow against a Shadow Gyarados. It… did not end well for the Gyarados, especially as she was screaming something about the species 'ruining everything for her'.

They did _not_ want to know.

"Froak." '_We have bigger problems._' Froakie then said, making the group jump.

"LING!" '_Sweet fucking Palkia, DON'T DO THAT!_' Fletchling chirped. "Flet!" '_We didn't even know you were there!_'

"Froak." '_I recognize my faults and will correct them._' Froakie retorted sarcastically. "Kie." '_But has anyone checked on Noibat?_'

"Goomy." '_Still sulking about being a Noibat again and not a Noivern_.' Goomy said, gaining a look from all present. "Goo." '_What? I'm not sulking. I'm working on getting back to being a Goodra._'

No one believed him.

"Froakie." '_Back on topic, I ran into something before I-_' Froakie started before they heard an enraged scream.

"Goo?" '_NOW what?_'

* * *

**Kanto Region Coast - 1702 Hours Local Time**

* * *

Archer crawled ashore, sputtering and coughing. He was alive. He was free.

"Hello, Archer."

…He was dead. Archer looked up to see Giovanni, dressed in his black trench coat and fedora, a Shelder under the crook of his left arm. One of the few that knew Teleport, because everyone forgot how to teach them the move and who would suspect a Shelder?

"I _told_ you _not_ to attack the _Olympic_." the Boss growled. "I don't care what your personal hate of the boy is, Archer. I will not risk Team Rocket by making my sister angry enough to kill us all."

"You know damn well what he did to us at Mount Moon! I barely got out of there!" Archer snapped back before a hammer was cocked back.

Giovanni aimed the handgun in his right hand at Archer's head, looking cold and angry. "You had promise." he said, seemingly sad. "But sadly, you made it personal. And when you go attack my nephew…"

"Please, Boss, NO!" Archer begged as he tried to get to his knees.

"That is an attack on ME." Giovanni finished before pulling the trigger. BANG!

* * *

Nearby, a group of teenagers all looked at the _Olympic_, smoke rising from her superstructure in some places as fires were put out.

"Didn't think Team Rocket had the balls to attack a Pernon Line ship, let alone the flagship." one of them said as the _Olympic_, low in the water at the bow, steamed towards Porta Vista.

"Think he was on board?" another asked as a pretty girl lowered a pair of binoculars, a Cubone watching the ship with her.

"He saved us, Joe." she said, staring at the ship as she limped for repairs. "No doubt he saved the Olympic, too. Alright, people, you know what to do: any Rockets get to shore, round them up! If they resist, shoot them as a last resort. We want them alive."

"Cu." said the Cubone.

"And yes, he would disapprove." Giselle said as her team got to work. Rocket hunting was such a pain.

* * *

Entry 18: Team Rocket Policy

Lapses in operational discipline force us to reissue policy orders.

1: Obey the orders of the Boss, no matter what

2: All Pokemon are to be given to the Boss' safekeeping until further notice.

3: Do not attack Delia Ketchum or her family. Pallet Town is off limits unless ordered. (See: REDACTED - clearance level Admin required)

Standing orders with the failures of Mount Moon, Pokemon Tech and the unauthorized attack on the RMS _Olympic_ now include orders to avoid Ash Ketchum, Pokemon Trainer and Crown Prince of Rota, on sight. All persons he interacts with are to be unsullied. Admin Archer died and Admin Proton is in prison because of the Boss' orders on this matter.

Proton is to rot in prison until such time as the Boss dains to free him. - Adjutant Matori, Team Rocket

* * *

Entry 19: Anti-Rocket Attack Force/'Technicals'

Recent reports indicate that the survivors of Pokemon Tech have formed an attack group against Team Rocket. Already they have hit two major bases in Kanto, including the Game Corner. Survivors of the failed Olympic attack were recently rounded up by these people, which grunt forces have begun to call 'Technicals' as they were former Pokemon Tech students.

They are armed, but mostly use their Pokemon to subdue their targets, likely in emulation of Ash Ketchum.

Orders are: capture if possible. Kill if unable. There must be no threat to the Team.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Well, the secret's out for both of them. Misty and Ash can keep it better together. As for why I skipped over the battle in Oblivia, honestly, the only thing you need to know is the crew got a bit of a workout, Hawlucha was an idiot and Serena doesn't like Gyarados. Most of **_**Kalos **_**doesn't like Gyarados, actually. Giant angry sea snakes that fire Hyper Beams aren't exactly well-liked anywhere with a large coastline. You'll get more details when we get to Kalos.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yep. And yeah, now Ash and Misty have a better grip on everything - and Misty has a voice in her head to add to the shipping!**

**Ron the True Fan: Yes, she does. Remember, Ash got hit with energy from the two second-most powerful Psychic-Type Pokemon (Arceus takes top spot, for **_**obvious reasons**_**) in existence in Movie 1. That and him coming back to life doesn't happen without **_**some**_** sort of consequence. Those he has a great bond with have left imprints of themselves on Ash, like… ghosts of a sort. It just takes a while for said ghosts to transfer from Ash, who doesn't even know they're there, to someone like Misty or Brock, which is why Brock isn't 'seeing himself', as it were. He hasn't spent much time with his mother over the last decade, so no Ghost Delia. But Ghost Max, May and Iris are VERY much on the table.**

**Ja Ne!**


	14. Chapter 13: Remembering Mystery

**Ron the True Fan: (Looks around) Good, no sign of angry people attempting to bang my skull in.**

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic**_ **\- Near Porta Vista - 0945 hours local time - Day 23 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

The _Olympic_'s bow was still low in the water, but not enough now to have the bottom of the ship scrape against the seabed. Four out of the nine damaged compartments were repaired and emptied of water, one more was being emptied and the forward four were still flooded. But there was nothing they could do about that.

Didn't mean a thing to Pikachu as he still did not like the feeling of climbing uphill on a ship. "Pika?" '_WHEN are they going to trim this thing?!_' Pikachu demanded as Ash used the boat deck's small gym to exercise, using the rowing machine to work his arms and legs.

"When…" Ash started as he 'rowed forward' "It pulls into port." he finished as he 'rowed back', stopping the machine and getting off.

"Pika." '_There a reason you wanted to work out in here?_' Pikachu asked before getting a gleam in his eye. "Pi-chu?" '_Trying to impress Misty?_'

"_Please_ don't start." Ash pleaded exasperatedly as he padded his forehead to remove the sweat from it. "I have _enough_ problems with her knowing everything."

And he meant it. Misty went into detail about New Island, Shamouti, even a few adventures in Hoenn and Sinnoh that he never told her about.

"Pikapi?" '_Ok, Ash. WHY are you in here working out? You've been in here for two hours while we've been training on the back deck. Butterfree asked me to look for you!_' Pikachu demanded as Ash grabbed his shirt, jacket and hat from a nearby bench.

"Nearly drowning puts things in perspective. I thought I could handle being underwater for a long time. Too used to being in my old self." Ash said as he remembered the most extreme things he'd done. A caber toss with a massive tree, for example. "In this timeline, I haven't gotten all that conditioning yet."

"Pi." '_It took nearly four years for you to get in that good shape before Manaphy happened._' Pikachu said. "Pika." '_And it'll take that long to get back in that good shape._'

"Yeah, but-" Ash started as the gym doors opened. To the last person he wanted to see him shirtless.

"Ash, the captain's looking for…" the redhead started before Ash just stared at her.

Misty then blushed and shut the door.

"…I hate my life." Ash declared before putting his shirt on. "Stupid mental age bullshit…"

* * *

**RMS **_**Germanic**_ **\- Day 22 of Ash's Journey - 0951 hours local time**

* * *

Goomy had seen things most would not believe, been part of events that would shape history.

This… was new.

"ROCKET BASTARDS!" spat Ash's Kalosian mate, wearing a far less formal version of the dress he saw her in when they saw her in Vanille Town, was pissed off and fuming. "They attacked a ship and tried to kill everyone on board and worse, they tried to kill MY HUSBAND!"

"Fenn." '_I knew she could get mad, but this is… worse than anything I've ever seen._' Fenniken said before her trainer punched a wall.

The reason was running off on the radio.

"_-continuing reports from the _Olympic _confirm that Team Rocket and Team Aqua attacked the _Olympic_, but for unknown reasons, Team Aqua left the ship. Further confirmation that newly discovered Prince of Rota Ash Ketchum was confirmed barely alive after an heroic act to save the storied ocean liner-_"

"Froak." '_He's only gotten more irresponsible with his own life since we last saw him._' Froakie said as it droned on, Serena becoming less and less in control of her anger.

"Serena, calm down. Take a pill and _relax_." her mother said before Serena looked at Grace.

"Mom… my new husband, the man I love, nearly drowned thanks to Team Rocket." she said with barely contained rage. "I want to make them _pay_ for that."

"Good point. But we're still over three months from Kanto, so you aren't going to be getting that revenge." Grace said as she laid back on her bed. "It's his mother they'll have to worry about. Former or not, she's an Elite Four. You don't get that title from royal dowries in the Nihon regions: you bleed for it."

Serena's rage ebbed, making Goomy relax somewhat. "He is a prince in shining armor after all." she said, almost dreamily, the seeming bipolar action still unnerving the Kalos crew.

And they had to endure this for three more months?

"Fletch." '_I'm almost tempted to ask for a ball._' Ash's robin stated.

* * *

"Well, Team Rocket's got balls. Got to give them that," Rin Uzumaki said as she listened to the news reports.

"More balls than brains." Kyril said as he poured a small glass of wine, as he would, no doubt, be called to some inane social gathering once the ship left port. That and the omnipresent nuclear reactor on the other side of the lead-lined walls and glass.

"So, back to Kanto?" Rin asked as Pernon looked over reports.

"If this keeps up, the Rotans are going to get involved. And they don't like me any more then the Kalosians do," Pernon retorted. "But maybe this is a good thing."

"How is this good? If Rota starts on the warpath, it might end with unification under the Winged Crown," Rin spat, referring to the long-vacant crown of the Kingdom of Rota. "And while I doubt Ketchum is in the mood for expansion, the rest of those noble bastards want the lands they claimed thousands of years ago."

Kyril sighed, looking at a very old map of the regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh, most of which were swallowed up by the then-reigning might of the Kingdom of Rota. But over the centuries, Rota declined until finally the royals vanished during the war. Then began the Warring States era and the unification of Nihon. Then the Shadow War with the world still putting itself back together.

"If Ash wants to take Nihon, he might not have a fight on his hands. You've read those reports," he said before putting his monkey suit on.

"I _made_ those reports for you to read. He's a popular and charismatic young man. All the Gym Leaders he fought sing his praises," she deadpanned. "The absolute last thing we need is him sweet-talking the Leagues into unification with Rota."

"He doesn't seem the type to try that." Kyril said as he looked back at the old map. "The rest of Rota's nobles, maybe. Not him."

"We'll see. The _Olympic _pulls into port tomorrow for repairs." Rin said. "And we are still three months from Kanto. We'd go faster, but you know how Shadow Gyarados like to home in on noisy, fast moving ships for a snack."

"No one wants a repeat of the _Icelandic_." Kyril said, remembering that tragic incident.

* * *

**Oak Ranch, Pallet Town, Kanto Region - 1245 Hours, Day 22 of the Journey**

* * *

Rarely was Vine Whip ever used this way.

CRACK!

Chikorita ran after her fellow Johto Pokemon, her vines cracking as they ran from her. "Chika!" '_MOVE!_' she snapped in both voice and vine as Totodile and Heracross fled from her, even the bug fearing what she would do.

It was training day at the ranch and all of Ash's captures were on overdrive thanks to the news Team Rocket had tried to kill their trainer.

Blades of air hit the ground, Pidgeotto looking smug as she had seemingly perfected Air Slash. "Geot!" '_Finally._' she cooed before another Air Slash hit where she had fired hers, Noctowl looking mildly annoyed.

"Owl." '_You copied me._' he accused.

"Pidge." '_We're flying-types. Ash needs coverage. Why should you care?_' the falcon asked before Noctowl started beating his wings for a Whirlwind.

Pidgeotto was aware of how the move worked. So she knew the basics, channeling power into her wings. And beating them until a tornado formed under them, just before being sent forth as a gale worthy of nature itself.

They slammed into one another, wind fighting wind until the ground began to rip apart underneath the storm, digging a hole that spat up grass, dirt and rock, then shoved the two birds aside.

* * *

Bulbasaur gathered energy into his bulb, preparing to fire a Solar Beam when he saw the unnatural tornado. "Bulba." '_Goddamn it._' he muttered before going to check on what those two idiots did this time, missing Pidove and Cyndaquil having their own version of an Aerial Ace fight, as practice.

He finally came across the two flying-types, on their backs, a massive hole between them, caused by two Whirlwinds hitting each other.

"Bulba." '_Good Lord, lovebirds. Did you have to dig up a new pond?_' he asked, somewhat annoyed that the two decided to renovate without his say-so.

"Noc?" '_Lovebirds?_' Noctowl asked, sputtering as he tried to get back to his feet.

"Otto." '_Fuck you, bulb toad._' Ash's first bird snapped. Their reactions made Bulbasaur have that same grin he had when he… humiliated Psyduck so long ago.

Oh, this was going to be _fun_. "Bulba." '_Quick to deny. Perhaps-_' he started before both got up and started spewing air pressure blades at him.

The rest of the crew were getting their workout. Why not him?

* * *

Snivy's tail glowed as she practiced Aerial Ace, which she knew she could learn. Didn't mean Ash had the time (or the brains, but she blamed that bastard Cyrus for that, given Sinnoh and Hoenn) to train her.

Bulbasaur ran out from the treeline, angry birds screaming in the distance. "Bulba." '_Give them a few months and a couple more fights in a gym and we'll be seeing Pidgey eggs._' he said with confidence.

"Sni." '_They hate each other._' Snivy retorted as the two began fighting once more.

"Bul." '_Only because of third-hand accounts._' he said before doing the Bulbasaur equivalent of a shrug. "Bulbasaur." '_We told them, everyone else judged her for not coming back. Not her fault. Besides, I blame that jackass with the airship that captured the Shamouti Birds more than I blame anything else._'

Snivy snorted. "Snivy." '_Chikorita's probably going to be looking for you: said something about Solar Beam._' she said. "Sni." '_Not too many gyms left in Kanto worth sending me into._'

Bulbasaur fixed his fellow grass-type with a look. "Bulba, Bul-saur." '_You DO realize our trainer doesn't care about the type chart, right? He could easily send you against Blaine, the fire-type leader here in Kanto, and have some strategy to win._'

…Snivy could see that. He'd done crazier shit then that before.

"Sni." '_I might enjoy that._' she said, smirking. "Vy." '_Beating a fire-type gym leader would be a good thing._'

BOOM!

"Bulba." '_I'll see what that was._' Bulbasaur said before running off, leaving Snivy to ponder how to fight a fire-type like a Magmar.

* * *

**Indigo Plateau, Kanto Region - 1457 Hours Local Time, Day 22**

* * *

Lance Wataru was not a hard man to deal with.

Blackthorn City was once a major hub for Pokemon trainers in Nihon, but after the Cipher War, it became… well, 'hell' was a term used often. But it made him have a dream. A dream to reunite the regions as one once more.

It started with a Dratini. Now that Dratini was a Dragonite and he was Champion of the Elite Four of Kanto and Johto, a first step to reunification.

Sitting with him were Agatha Oak, the not-quite-public, not-quite-secret wife of Samuel Oak, the regional professor and his predecessor an old, no, ancient woman that was seemingly blessed by the dark gods with eternal life (not that Giratina and Darkrai were evil incarnate: THAT was a crude misconception) Bruno Siba, a Fighting Master who actually fought his Pokemon to improve himself (and usually declined using a chair, sitting on the floor or standing as he did now) and the beautiful redhead Lorelei Kanna, who made her off-League time teaching in the Orange Islands that she was native to, though less frequently now that her teacher/terror figure Delia Ketchum had now fully retired from the League scene since the...incident.

Sweet Arceus, Delia was still terrifying even now, six years into her retirement!

Lance shook his head before remembering the subject for today's conference: Team Rocket's attack on the _Olympic_. While the news had been blaring it for days, Lance used a radio jammer to keep anything from leaking into the League. Last thing they wanted was unsubstantiated reports and rumors. League agents had gotten all the intel from the attack and compiled it into a summary.

"As you know, the RMS _Olympic_ was attacked by Team Rocket yesterday. I wanted to get all the information possible before we discussed the League's response." Lance said as he opened the folder on the table, containing a photo of the ship post-attack, clearly deep in the water, lists of passengers and those missing or confirmed dead. "Thankfully, Captain Hiroshi was very cooperative."

"This is not a good sign." Lorelei said as she took off her glasses to clean them. "Team Rocket hasn't been this active since the earliest days of the League when they fought in plain sight. It might be a sign of them preparing for a new offensive campaign."

"Unlikely." Agatha mused. "There hasn't been any sign of movement in areas we know are Rocket territory since the attack. Celedon, Gym or not, is their heartland. If that stupid girl Erika did her bloody job-"

"Can we move on to another matter?" Bruno asked, annoyed with the talk as though war were coming. Lance could not blame him. "The Elite Four restructuring. I do not want to be shuffled from Kanto to Johto and back again every two years."

"Bruno, I know you're tired of that, but can you give us your opinion before we move on?" Lance asked gently, trying to prevent one of the infamous shouting matches he was forced to endure between Lorelei and Bruno.

He really couldn't afford all the acetaminophen pills. The good stuff was expensive, even for the man that was technically head of the government of two regions.

The fighter crossed his arms. "If there was going to be an attack after the _Olympic_, it would have happened by now." he said, putting forward the simple fact. "Attacking a major target like the _Olympic _would only be the start. Yet there is nothing."

Lance pulled out a paper with the list of known Rockets. "Proton was on board. Someone shoved a sword through his gut. Didn't kill him, but he's not running around for a few weeks." he muttered. "And… Hmm. Archer was there, too."

"See? Two admins were on board-" Lorelei started before Lance gestured for her to stop. She glared before he finished.

"His body was found on a nearby beach. With a bullet in his head and a typed note." Lance said before retrieving a copy of said note. It read 'attack unauthorized' with a simple red Gothic-style R stamped on the bottom.

"Only one person uses that." Agatha spat. "The Boss." Lance knew why she spat that name. She personally shot the last Boss of the Rockets. Repeatedly. With a shotgun. Then she had the ghosts do their worst to the woman that would only call herself 'Madame Boss'.

"So, the attack was unauthorized." Lance said. "Explains why we don't have grunts doing mass shootings in the streets. Something has the new Boss spooked."

"Lance." Bruno said warningly. Lance nodded, getting to another folder before handing Lorelei the one on the _Olympic_ attack. He did not want to test Bruno's patience.

"We have few candidates for the position. Will and Karen are content in Johto, therefore they're automatically out." Lance said. "We could call Delia-"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" all three of his subordinates (in that he was champion, a higher rank than Elite) yelled.

"Delia-Sensei is to be left in Pallet with her family," Lorelei said before shuddering. "I don't want to be on the same E4 with her."

"Agreed. She could have taken champion status if not for her husband." Bruno said, equally chilled. There were reasons True Masters were not type-biased and Bruno made that mistake once. Delia… well, Agate Village after Cipher blew it up knew how he felt.

"There is always Koga. Though he has problems of his own." Agatha added. "Damned ninja is dying."

Lance nodded as Lorelei looked at the passenger lists to avoid thinking about her teacher. "Giovanni?" he asked.

"No. He's not ready and will never be ready." Bruno said. "He is too unfocused, split between Viridian Gym's upkeep, his son and hunting Team Rocket." Lance was forced to agree: Giovanni spent more time hunting Rockets then fighting gym challengers. His gym was closed 70% of the time.

"We could ask my cousin Clair. No one goes to Blackthorn Gym anyways." Lance suggested as he noticed Lorelei pale, though she always had a white complexion.

"That's as bad as asking Bruno to swap from Johto to Kanto every-Oh, what are you doing, girl?" Agatha asked before Lorelei quickly pulled out a highlighter, marking two names in pink.

One was Waterflower, Misty. Obviously the youngest of the Sensational Sisters, the so-called Wandering Siren for her beauty. Lance met her: a shy, scared girl thanks to a mental attack by two Shadow Pokemon.

She had potential. Had to come out of that shell created by those bastards her sisters turned into clouds of mist, ironically, but she could join the Elite Four one day. It was then that he saw the other name.

Ketchum, Ash.

Delia's second child and eldest son.

Delia's pride and joy.

…Kanto was going to _burn_.

"Fuck," Lance said with feeling as he knew damn well what Delia would do.

Come out of retirement.

* * *

**RMS **_**Olympic**_ **\- On approach to Porta Vista - Day 23 of the Journey**

* * *

Ash looked at the town he knew as a tourist trap and victim of a very annoyed Tentacruel attack back in the other timeline.

Here, it was still a tourist trap… but one with a repair facility for ships, mostly warships from the look of them all. But as he saw a group of Tentacool and Tentacruel help guide the ship into a dock, he was more focused on the pier, where thousands cheered and waved at the ship, some with signs bearing a crude image of his face on them.

Ash mentally screamed. The last thing he needed was a fanclub. He did not want to be Gary in Kanto, damn it!

"Wow." Misty said beside him, her hand brushing against his. He momentarily felt his fingers flex to hold it, but he consciously tore his hand away. Misty didn't judge him for it. She didn't say a thing, actually, likely listening to her… previous self.

"The _last_ thing I want or need is a fanclub," Ash said as he walked down the promenade deck, Misty tailing him. The captain had pretty much told him that he would always have a free room on the _Olympic_, on any Pernon Line ship, actually, for saving it like he did. Ash declined. The captain insisted and sent a message to his boss, whose reply was 'the suite or the press'. Ash didn't like all of the attention he got from the grateful crew, so he took the suite for life option.

A loud caw got their attention as a massive black bird with a wingspan twice Ash's height flew past the ship, whose feathers looked like blackened steel, like a more… angry version of Pidgeot with a shorter beak.

Ash could not resist as he ran to the boat deck, Misty hot on his tail, smiling as he spotted the bird, while lazily orbited the ship, before looking at him and diving towards him.

Misty hid behind Ash, but Ash… wasn't scared. He… knew this bird somehow.

The divebomb ended as the bird stalled, landing on the deck before Ash pulled out his Porygon enhanced Pokedex and scanned the massive bird.

"_Corviknight, the Raven Pokémon and final evolution of Rookidee. The apex avian Pokemon of the Galar Region, Corviknight serves primarily as early warning and as the primary aerial taxi in Galar_." the machine said. "_Note: Corviknight do not leave Galar, as they are too heavy for transregional flights. Typing: Flying/Steel. Registered to_-"

The Pokedex didn't finished as the giant raven picked Ash up with its' beak and put him on its' back, before Misty screamed, then the bird took off, grabbing Misty in its' talons, screaming the entire time before flying them towards the docks, letting Misty go on the teak decking before landing nearby.

"Corviknight," said a voice Ash was half-expecting from the last timeline, but not… now. Walking towards them with a Pokeball belt and a… well, modified version of his outfit in Hoenn, but more suited for a woman and without the hat, was his mother, Delia Ketchum. "You didn't have to scare the girl. I doubt she was doing anything wrong."

"Kni!" cired the bird without a word before looking Misty over, seeing despite the fear of a giant steel bird… oh, no.

'_Sweet Arceus, NO_,' Ash thought as the bird nodded in approval.

Delia looked at her giant bird and then at Misty repeatedly. "By Palkia's Spire, I can't believe it!" his mother said before hugging her son. "You have a girlfriend!"

* * *

The strangled scream could be heard over the cheering crowds as the TRio left the ship.

"…That the twerp ?" Meowth asked.

"We're off-duty." Jessie insisted. "Stalking him can wait."

"And I want NOTHING to do with that scream!" James cried.

* * *

"Was that necessary?" Delia asked as she checked her ears to see if they were bleeding. "I'm just happy you-"

"Misty is _not_ my girlfriend," Ash all but ground out. "She is just my friend. She might be a girl, she is my friend, but she is NOT my girlfriend."

"Yet," Delia said teasingly. "Besides, you're the crown prince of Rota now. And… well, you might have mixed feelings about this."

"Mom, I'm still having a hard time with that. Can you at least tell me why you're here?" Ash asked exasperatedly before he was tackled to the decking by a yellow-haired missile.

"Big brother!" cried his little sister Yellow as she clung to his left arm and upper chest, crying.

"You got all of us worried, Ash." said another voice as Ash looked up to see Red, wearing an outfit like his, only with a red jacket instead of blue. Ash had a random thought that Red always copied him, but he shook it off as he got up.

"Where's Bell?" he asked, Misty giving Ash a very jealous look.

"Bell?" she asked snappily, like he remembered.

"Belladonna. His older sister. She's back home helping Professor Oak." Delia answered. "As for why we are here, I thought I would fly over, check on you, see if you were alright, but-"

"Mime." 'T_he brats noticed._' said Mimey, as he mimed his way over. "Mime mime, Mr. Mime." '_I had to teleport them here. Not fun: I haven't done mass teleports since my League days._'

"Out of shape, Mimey?" Ash said before the Psychic/fairy glared, then just stared.

"Mime?" '_You understood-oh, why do I bother asking? Ever since the incident, you've always been odd._' the barrier Pokemon said dismissively.

Ash wondered what that was before just getting a headache.

"Knight." '_You are a source of constant worry, Chosen._' Corviknight said, the voice being a soothing middle-aged woman's. "Cor." '_I insisted one of my hatchlings should be your starter, but that old bastard refused._'

Chosen? …Crap.

Corviknight knew about his… status.

"Still, I better tell you," Delia said. "You remember Lady Serena Yeonne-Gabena?"

"Serena?" Ash asked, wondering why she suddenly had that title added to her name. She and him were the same age; her mother simply refused to let her go on her journey. "I remember us at summer camp a few years ago." a half lie: he tried and succeeded forgetting about her after making his little vow after Altomere. "What about her?"

"Well...after you were outed in Rota-" '_Fuck, fuck, fuck_.' "I got a call from her mother, Baroness Grace." '_Fuck, fuck, _FUCK!' "And she sent me a message that you and Serena-" '_No. Fuck no. Oh hell to the fucking _FUCK no!' "are now officially engaged!"

Ash's mental scream could be heard in Kalos, Alola and Galar.

* * *

**Castelia City, Unova Region - 0548 Hours Local Time - Day 22 of the Journey**

* * *

Castelia City was the capital of Unova. One of the few things that survived the Cipher War, its skyscrapers were untouched by the conflict that sudden;y ended all those years ago.

But it was also the home of the Unovan Senate, those that governed the country alongside the champion, though increasingly, the champion's influence was waning.

"It has come to our attention, gentlemen." said Senator Irons, representing the state of Tork, "That the Kingdom of Rota has a new royal heir."

"Last thing anyone wants is Rota getting control of Nihon again." Senator Michaels of Striaton spat. "They're half the reason the Cipher War started in the first place!"

"Now, now, gentlemen." Senator Horton of Opelucid chided. "Let's not argue over history. Yes, Rota's piss-poor history with Orre kick-started this whole nonsense, but it's not like this Ketchum boy is going to rebuild the Rotan Empire. Besides, he has bigger problems. Kanto is recovering their lost industrial base and we haven't even gotten close to that yet."

"Yes, because the local Riolu population refuses to deal with those fucking Shadow Pokemon in our industrial heartland!" Michaels yelled as he stood up. "They're too interested in pining for Sinnoh and Rota, lands they weren't even born in!"

"Which will give us an opportunity to get Rota off its ass and help us." Horton said. "Kanto was never an industrial power. They relied on us for a VERY long time. What I propose is sending a delegation to Kanto. The Queen Victoria is in port. We can book passage for the diplomatic party."

"We'll need to make sure they keep that Lance boy occupied. Orre is stirring and that is never a good sign," Irons said. "We just need a few years before we're back on our feet. Then we can take the fight back to those sand-eating terrorist bastards."

"We'll need to pander to the Kantoans. Find some token minority to add to the team." Michaels said, drinking a glass of Kalosian wine. "They like that sort of thing.

"I think I have just the thing." Horton said with a mild cackle.

* * *

**RMS **_**Germanic**_ **\- 1502 Hours Local Time - Day 23**

* * *

"We're going to need to fund that old bastard, aren't we?" Rin asked as she looked through reports on Ash.

"Who? Oak?" Kyril asked.

"Who else? Rowen?" she snarked. "Of course Oak. Apparently, Ketchum is his apprentice of sorts."

"Well, we DO need to give him and his friends some form of ID. Pokedexes are expensive enough without the new chips and stuff."

"Which reminds me, I am pleased to inform you that the old MOS plant is back online for the first time in 57 years." Rin said as she handed him a file. "Should I tell them to start making Pokedex parts?"

Kyril thought about it. "If it endears Ash to us. Rota has… a history of tightly controlling business," he said, Rota's laws being strict when it came to business.

In short: government controlled. Kyril wasn't in the mood to have his company controlled by some noble asshole that knew nothing of business.

So whatever it took, it would happen.

* * *

**Porta Vista - 620 Hours Local Time - Day 24 of Ash's Journey**

* * *

Ash knew no rest that night. Strange nightmares plagued what little sleep he had, of fire and ruin.

He had been up most of the night, trying to avoid thinking of whatever that was. What had happened to him? The other him, the one whose body he inhabited and had some of his memories?

Ash knew too little and no one was willing to talk about what happened. So he sat, awake, until he began wondering the port town in the wee hours of the morning.

"Pikapi." '_Ash, this is unhealthy._' Pikachu said on his shoulder before making a Pika-yawn.

"I know. But all I get are nightmares.." Ash said. "There's so much I don't know about my life in this timeline. What causes them?"

"Pika." '_We'll find out sooner or later._' Pikachu said before he covered his nose. "Piiika!" '_The hell is that smell?!_'

Ash barely noticed it before Pikachu spoke up, but now he could smell something… foul as they walked past a small tunnel, barely big enough for one person.

And something was coming out of that tunnel at full speed. Coming right at…

"Oh, shit!" Ash cursed as a wave of purple sludge covered his body, smothering him.

"Muuuuuuuuk!" '_Ash!_' said the mass of sludge before noticing Ash wasn't moving. The Muk got off Ash, allowing him to breathe. "Muk." '_I keep forgetting you need to breathe._'

Ash wheezed as air reentered his lungs. "You really need to remember that," he said.

"Muk!" '_I keep forgetting._' his sludge monster said.

"Please remember." Ash said before Muk double-taked. …or at least as much as a Muk could.

"Muk?" '_Wait, you understand-_'

"Please don't tell me I have to go through this song and dance every time I recatch one of you guys. Yes, I understand you: byproduct of how Celebi sent us back in time." Ash said a bit snappishly. "And I have anger problems for some reason. Kinda justified: I haven't slept at all since yesterday."

Muk paused at Ash's angry retort, but smiled anyways. Muk was quick to forgive. "Muk!" '_It's ok. You'll overcome this: you always do!_' he said before trying to reach for a ball on Ash's belt. Ash backed off a bit, then pulled out a Pokeball from his backpack.

"The ones on my belt are filled, Muk. Suppose I'll have to get a second one for balls I can throw," Ash said before Muk enveloped the ball before turning into energy and being captured.

* * *

**Oak Ranch - Roughly ten seconds later**

* * *

Beedrill, Spearow and ten or twelve others ran from a massive gelatinous mass as Belladonna watched, pausing mid-tying of her ponytail from the building.

"He HAD to catch a Muk." she said with annoyance. "I HATE Muks."

* * *

**Route 13 - 1245 hours local time**

* * *

"Your family was… nice." Misty said. "Yellow kept calling me big sister though…"

"I think they want me to be your boyfriend. But you can guess why I don't want that." Ash said as Pikachu glared at his trainer.

"_Yes, yes, that stupid vow_!" Misty's astral self said before scoffing. "_Damned fool. He's the best man for us and he _knows _it. He's just in denial_."

Misty did not comment on her mental self's words. They just had to navigate this hedge maze. And the pollen was annoying and reminded her of fairy dust. So she was well within her rights to say this hedge maze was made of fairy dust and headaches.

* * *

**Elsewhere**

* * *

They were green.

They were round.

...and by Arceus they refused to _blink_.

"Natu."

The two birds stood their ground, radiating psychic power to protect their trainer from a major threat. They had held it off before. They could do it again.

"You can't keep doing this." said their nemesis. By human standards, she was attractive: that jacket of hers was undone, hiding a tank top that… well, some human males stared at her chest a lot. A set of psychic wristlets and anklets hung from ankles and wrists, her long green-black hair barely hiding her brown and purple eyes.

She was Sabrina Natsume, Saffron Gym's infamous Leader. She showed little mercy, she ripped the minds of her challengers assunder and no one was stupid enough to evict her.

She also happened to be the most powerful human psychic on the planet.

But these birds… these two damn round birds…

"Natu." the bird on the right said.

"I _will _have her."

"Natu." the left bird retorted.

"No need for _that_ language."

"Na-Tu."

"You merely delay the inevitable. No one is going to save her. No one is going to save any of you." Sabrina spat. "Tell her that I await her for her next… lesson." with that, Sabrina left.

"Natu!"

"THAT was uncalled for!"

* * *

Entry 20: Porta Vista Naval Shipyard

The first shipyard built in the United Region of Nihon over 200 years prior to the Cipher War, the Porta Vista shipyard has produced some of the most famous vessels in the world, including the RMS _Queen Victoria_, but it is more famous for the products for the military, as Porta Vista is a deep-water port.

While the shipyard has waned in importance, it still serves as the most important military asset in Kanto, as most of the shipyards in the former URN were based in Hoenn, meaning Kanto can at least field a small, if competent, navy. The shipyard is far enough from the city proper not to interfere with the booming tourist industry and environmental concerns are minimal, as it is a so-called 'green shipyard' in that none of the waste products produced are dangerous: even so, most hazardous materials are sent to nearby Gringey City, home to a population of Grimer and Muk that deal with the waste and reconstitute it as to safe to dispose of.

* * *

Entry 21: Military of Kanto

Kanto was once home to dozens of URN airbases, but with the lack of aviation fuel facilities these are defunct. Kanto's Navy relies mostly on old _Servijima_-Class heavy destroyers, with the _Golonya-_Class heavy cruiser _Heart of Indigo_ being the flagship, currently stationed at Cinnabar Island.

The army of Kanto is small, but highly trained and equipped, maintaining the high standards of the URN military. This is supplemented by the fact all Pokemon Trainers officially registered with the League over the age of 16 are listed as reserve personnel. The Elite Four serve as overall command, but generally leave the actual battlefield tactics to the Kanto Military High Command.

Team Rocket cannot overcome this force unless the military is weakened, stripped of supplies and distracted. Recent events may prove fruitful for an attempt after-(File corrupted)

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: ...And you thought** _**Reset Bloodlines**_ **Sabrina was bad.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, she **_**is **_**bad, but this Sabrina is MUCH worse. You'll learn more about that when Ash and Misty get to the Saffron Gym.**

**117Jorn: ...all I can say is I'm just glad the green birds are finally back. *Natu lands on head* I missed them.**

**Ron the True Fan: ...Awwwwwwwww...green birds. (Natu nests before pecking repeatedly) Ow, ow, OW!**

**Takeshi Yamato: (Laughs) serves you right for taking so long to bring them in, Ron!**

**Ja Ne!**


	15. Chapter 14: Mental Chaos

**Ron the True Fan: (Natu continues to peck furiously) FUCKING OW!**

**Takeshi Yamato: Heh - guess the birds are still mad at you.**

* * *

**Route 13/14 Intersection, 0725 hours local time, Day 25 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

"Pika…" '…_What is he doing here?_' Pikachu asked as Misty poked the giant Pokemon blocking their path, the finger sinking in about half an inch before stopping.

"Never seen a Snorlax in person." she said as Ash wondered why his Snorlax was here, in Kanto, when he caught him in the Orange Islands. The last Snorlax he had in Kanto was the one blocking that path. No hippy this time.

"It's mine." Ash deadpanned, Misty giving him a look before her 'other self' seemingly explained, with her understanding immediately.

"Oh, the one you caught in the Orange Islands." she said before adding "Didn't he crush his Pokeball once?"

"Please don't remind me: dressing up like an apple was the fourth most humiliating thing I've ever done." Ash pleaded, not mentioning the infamous Celedon Incident. Then there was the King of Pokelantis, which was just… humiliating AND horrifying.

Snorlax yawned, sitting up before looking around, looking at Ash and company before smiling.

"Snor." '_Morning, Ash. …Why am I not at the ranch?_' he said. "Laaaaaxxx." '_Don't tell me I slept through another transfer._'

"Pikachu." '_Time travel. Remember that time we talked about Celebi and Arceus?_' Pikachu said, Snorlax yawning again.

"Snorlax." '_If we're in the past, why does Misty have a bigger chest? I thought she was like a washboard._' Snorlax said, Pikachu gaining a look of indignation, Misty's Wingull looking annoyed and Ash a strange mixture of blushing in embarrassment and paling in terror.

Misty looked at Ash. "What'd he say?" she asked, blissfully ignorant.

"You don't want to know," Ash replied, already reaching for a Poke Ball.

"Snor?" '_That sounded like he-_'

"Pika!" '_YES! He can understand you! Sweet fucking Dialga, do we have to do this EVERY TIME?!_' Pikachu snapped as Snorlax tapped the ball, turning to energy and being sucked into the ball before it teleported to the lab.

"Seriously. What'd he say?" Misty asked again. Ash refused to answer. Then Psyduck came out of his ball.

The rest of that afternoon was spent with Ash and his Pokemon outrunning an angry Misty, who wanted to get Ash to transfer Snorlax back so she could kill him.

* * *

**Oak Ranch - roughly 30 seconds later**

* * *

"Oh, sweet Creators, WHY a Snorlax?" Oak asked as he looked at Bulbasaur, hoping the Bulb Pokemon knew Grassy Terrain.

"Bulba." said the bulb toad before using it on a small pot, making a tiny bush grow out of it.

Oh, good, the new TM from Galar worked. That was a relief.

"Your trainer is trying to drown me in debt." the professor said before chuckling. "Still, nearly 30 Pokemon in four weeks. Including that Scraggy-"

Said egg began to glow, then out came the Shedding Pokémon, blinking. Then screaming, headbutting his way out of the glass container his egg was inside.

"…Damn it." he said before looking at the computer, looking at the capture lists for his two prized students. While that girl, Leaf Green, was getting one or two Pokemon, Gray had inundated him with enough Spearow, Rattata and Sandshrew that he put the rotters to work planting berries. He had caught a Hypno and somehow found an Eevee, but that was it.

Ash… all three Kanto, Johto and Unova starters, Unovan Pokemon like Sandile and Scraggy, even a Shiny Noctowl. He was going for quality. Even that Beedrill and Spearow were not common: they were new, sure, but Ash's other Pokemon were teaching them and they learned quickly.

It almost reminded him of that time… No, no time to reminisce.

He had to prepare for hell in the form of a Snorlax.

At least the money that corporate bastard Pernon was suddenly sending him would alleviate some of the costs.

* * *

**Cargo ship - midway between Hoenn and Johto - 1745 hours local**

* * *

Vun-vun.

Vun-vun.

A Treecko watched for the sign of doom, but she wasn't agile enough, ending up in the maw of a dangerous monster which dragged her to the deck of ship.

"Gible!" '_Hi!_' said Gible, eyesmiling before letting her go, the Treecko patting Gible's forehead before the land shark began hunting once more.

It was a game. The Treeckos were bored, Gible was bored, now all of them were running around, Gible hunting them. They had a good excuse not to get caught.

Gible's bite wasn't lethal, but it could hurt.

"Turt." '_for once, it's not us getting Gible's bite._' Turtwig said as they watched the land shark 'hunt'.

"Treecko." '_Speak for yourself. My clan is getting introduced to his infamous jaws._' Ash's future Sceptile said as another one got a nice CHOMP!

The elder watched as they played, Gible occasionally showing that fin of his. "Ko" '_What a nice land shark._' he said as Gible made a happy 'Gib'.

"Chim." '_too nice._' Chimchar said before Gible stopped in front of a container. "Char…" '_Oh, NO._'

Gible looked at the container, sniffing all around it, his mouth dripping with drool.

"Star." '_Don't do it._' Starly said. Gible didn't hear.

"Tree." '_Don't do it, land shark._' Treecko begged.

CHOMP! Gible bit the container, ripping into the steel door, then eating it bite by bite.

By the time he was done…

"Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp. Gible!" cried Gible, sounding pleased before looking into the container. "Gib?" '_Who's in there?_'

A small blue and brown mudskipper-like creature poked her head out in terror. "Mud?" '…_Please don't eat me,_' she pleaded, shaking like a Durant would if Gible was going to eat it.

"Gible?" '_A Mudkip? FRIEND!_' cried the land shark with a smile.

"MUD!" '_HELP!_' cried the Mudkip as she ran from Gible's all-too-eager jaws.

Sadly, there is one truth about Gible. Unless you have trained with Gibles all your life…

CHOMP!

There is no escape from the bite.

* * *

Starly, Tailow and Corphish looked at the Mudkip in Gible's jaws, the land shark himself eyesmiling, FAR too pleased with himself.

"Muuuuuudd…" '_Help me._' Mudkip begged.

"Chimchar, Chim." '_Gible won't hurt you. He's just… overly friendly._' Chimchar explained before Gible let the mudskipper go.

"Gible!" '_Friend!_' cried the land shark.

"Mud…" '_Crazy Pokemon. And I'm looking for a trainer._' Mudkip said.

"Turt." '_So are we. His name is Ash Ketchum._' Turtwig said.

"Mud!" '_I don't want a guy trainer! I want a girl! But no one in Hoenn wanted me._' Mudkip said before Gible loomed again.

CHOMP!

"Gib!" '_Ash has lots of girl friends! One of them can be your trainer!_' Gible warbled around the Mudkip. "Gible!" '_Like Misty! She's loud, but loves water-types!_'

The Sinnohan and Hoenn Pokemon all looked at Gible, wondering if he supported getting Dawn and Ash together or May. But right now, they weren't in the position to fight over the two. For now, they had to deal with a tagalong.

"Mud." '_What is she?_' Mudkip asked.

"Tree." '_Water-type Gym Leader._' Treecko said before Trapinch crawled up to him. "Trap." '_Not going to tell her?_' he asked.

"Star." '_No point. Misty's Misty, timeline or or not. We just need to get to Kanto before Gible eats the ship out from under us._'

SCREECH! CHOMP! BURP! "Gible!"

"Turt." '_Case in point._' Turtwig deadpanned as Gible got hungry again.

* * *

**Kanto Route 14 - 2104 Hours Local Time**

* * *

Misty still wouldn't look at him. It was refreshing that Misty was almost back to normal, but he suspected she would be less… Misty-he-knew and more current-timeline tomorrow.

Ash sighed, feeling his mental age of 31 years. He was too tired of this shit.

"Pikapi?" '_You ok, Ash?_' Pikachu asked as his trainer set up his sleeping bag.

"Not really. Just… tired. Having to go through all this again…" Ash said before Pikachu whacked him.

"Pika." '_No angst._' Pikachu said before Ash blinked and started chuckling. His starter was right.

"You're right. I gotta stop overthinking this." Ash said, grinning. "Lavender Town?"

Pikachu's ears drooped. "Pika." '_No dying._' he said, remembering that all too well.

"Maybe. Might take advantage of it with Misty." Ash said, Pikachu giving him a look of shock. "I'm kidding. I'm not going to peep on her. Who do I look like?"

"Pi?" '_An idiot?_' Pikachu asked before Ash levelled a look at him. "You just got your ketchup rights rescinded."

And Pikachu started to panic at having his favorite thing (other than Ash) taken away from him.

'Help…'

"Pikachu, don't do the telepathy thing, please. That gives us both headaches." Ash said, referring to a common use of Aura, but they weren't exactly trained to use it.

"Pikapi?" '_What are you talking about, Ash?_' Pikachu said, making Ash look at him in confusion before shaking his head.

He'd been thinking too hard for the last month. It was time to take it somewhat easier.

* * *

**Saffron Gym - same time**

* * *

"Nice try." Sabrina said, glowering at the purple wall of power blocking her from her 'student'. Outside that wall were, as usual, the two Arceus-damned birds.

They liked it when she got mad. It meant they were winning.

"You think using that barrier to make a call for help is going to save you? I am the most powerful psychic on the planet!" Sabrina spat. "Arceus itself would have to come down here to put an end to me!"

The birds stood their ground.

"Natu."

"If you weren't mentally linked to my student, I'd kill you!" the leader spat. "Count yourself lucky that killing you would kill her." with that, Sabrina turned on her heel, fuming.

After she was out of earshot, both birds looked to one another.

"Natu?" '_What a bitch. Think a message got out?_' the Natu on the left said, his wings shifting somewhat.

"Natu." '_We reached a mind that was perceptive. He heard the call. Barely. I have his psychic signature, though._' the one on the right said, leaning to one side, her feather moving from side to side as she did so.

"Natu!" '_Keep the bitch distracted. I'll get him here._' he replied. "Tu." '_Tell me when she goes to sleep. I'll teleport to him._'

"Natu." '_She only sleeps for two hours,_' she said.

"Natu." '_So keep me informed,_' he retorted.

* * *

**Route 14 - 1314 Hours Local Time - Day 26 - 1305 Hours Local time**

* * *

Sandile had just been transferred in, but clearly when he wasn't digging on the way to Kanto, he was training.

Because he was standing on his hind legs and glowing.

Mimikyu cheered, the little ghost having refused to be transferred back just yet as, while deadly to look at, she was getting rather chipper with all the new friends.

"So the croc's on his hind legs now." Misty said as she looked at the newly evolved Krokorok, still wearing his glasses.

"Rok!" '_One step from being back to normal!_' the dark-type cried as Ash looked at Charmeleon, who was… fuming.

"Please don't." Ash begged. Sadly, Charmeleon fell back into old form and disobeyed Ash, tackling Krokorok, roaring obscenities.

Most of which are actually R-rated and the authors don't want to actually stray into that area of stupidity. We actually follow the rating rules. (WHACK!)

"Mi?" '_Aren't they friends?_' Mimikyu asked as she… moved towards Ash.

"Well, the time travel thing made them mad because they used to be Krookodile and Charizard," Ash said. "Fully evolved."

"Mi." '_Never understood why I can't evolve._' Mimikyu said depressingly. "Kyu." '_I wanna change, too!_'

"Uh… Mimikyu, I'm not sure you CAN evolve. In my time at Alola in the other timeline, I only saw Mimikyu being… well… Mimikyu." Ash said, though that didn't say much: that homicidal Mimikyu used by Team Rocket wasn't a good example.

"Mi…" '_Why…_' she said, her 'head' conking back.

"Pika." '_I got an idea. Why don't we find some old plushies and have you use those as covers?_' Pikachu suggested. "Chu." '_I think Meowth bitched about a damaged rag for that crazy bastard once._'

"Yeah, you'll just have to change out of sight." Ash said. "We look at your… real form, we won't be around to talk about it."

"Mi!" '_Pretty bird!_' Mimikyu said randomly-

"Natu."

Ash glanced up to find a Tiny Bird Pokemon using his hat as a nest, looking down at him with his unblinking eyes.

"…Why do I have a Natu on my head?" Ash asked.

"Natu." '_Recall your Pokemon. You're coming with me._' the Natu said, Charmeleon and Krokorok looking at the bird before Mimikyu just cheered, firing off a random Shadow Ball, making the bird squawk and take to the air briefly before settling. "Na-tu." '_That settles it. NOW._'

"Krok?" '_Why should we listen to a-_' Krokorok started before Ash recalled Charmeleon and Krokorok, then Mimikyu, despite a protest.

Things were only going to get worse as Misty came into view with Psyduck in tow.

"Ash? What's going-" Misty asked before seeing the Natu. "…Why do you have a Natu on your head?"

"Natu!" '_Her too!_' the bird declared before pulling Misty and Psyduck towards Ash, resulting in her recalling Psyduck with his frantic quacking.

It also resulted in Misty crashing into him and his head being shoved into her chest prior to the Natu teleporting them away.

* * *

**Unknown location - roughly the same time**

* * *

While Ash was not adverse to carrying Misty, having his head shoved pretty much into her expansive chest was not doing him any favors.

Misty didn't notice for five full seconds. After six, she finally saw Ash's hat at eye level and figured out where he was.

"AH!" she shrieked before backpeddling away from Ash, who was blushing, but REALLY trying to forget the whole thing happened.

"You… you…" she heaved, pissed that Ash had his head between her boobs, but she thought about it for a second. Ash did not drag her over and he had done his damnedest to avoid looking anywhere below her chin.

The one to blame was-

"Natu."

Misty and Ash looked at the source of the call, finding the Natu that teleported them here along with another Natu as the two began talking.

"_Shame Ash's Pokespeech translation doesn't affect us._" Astral Misty said. "_Good thing Ash isn't like Brock, eh? Pervert would've made a move on you, but Ash…_"

Misty blushed as her Astral self began having a rather active imagination. WHY did her alternate self have to be such a pervert?

* * *

'_Do not think. Do not think. DO NOT THINK._' Ash thought as Misty had her angry moment.

"Natu." '_Sis, we're back_!' the Natu called as he hopped on the floor towards...another Natu.

Repeated Natus went out, turning into a conversation he could barely keep up with, Pikachu groaning to his right.

"Pika." '_I hate teleporting._' he said, remembering the few occasions that were forced on him. The debacle in Rota, for example.

"You and me both." Ash said before noticing Misty blushing. What did her mental self do to make that reaction?

'_Hello?_' came a voice in his head that sounded somewhat...familiar.

'_Hello?_' he thought back before noticing the Natus were sitting in front of a wall of psychic energy, which Ash was more than familiar with. He had dealt with psychic nonsense enough to be able to know what _that_ was. Lugia at Shamouti, Sabrina...the list went on.

Then the barrier dropped, slowly revealing a girl with light violet hair, dressed in what looked like a tattered school uniform with a primarily violet color scheme, her hair tied into a small ponytail. She was curled into a ball, struggling to move before finally opening her eyes, which were as violet as her hair.

He knew her.

He knew her all too well. She nearly ended his run at the Battle Frontier, after all.

Question was, what was Anabel doing HERE? He thought she was a trainer at the same time he was running around Kanto. Only… somewhere else. Her accent SCREAMED Hoenn.

"Do we know one another?" Anabel(?) asked as she struggled to get up, the Natus hopping around her, flapping their wings. Did she… have Natus?

"You told that psychotic bird to teleport us in and… shove Ash…" Misty said before blushing. The apparent telepath blushed soon after.

"Sorry! But Natu panicked." she said, the Natu in question staring at Misty. "My name is Anabel Lila. I've been here for… Arceus, how long has it been?"

"Long enough." Ash declared as he offered her a hand to help her up. "I'm getting you out of here."

"Ash, she… her Natu-" Misty sputtered, embarrassed to repeat it. Ash understood. He was trying VERY hard to repress it.

"I know." he said as he pulled Anabel to her feet. "And we'll have a talk with Natu later, but right now-"

"How interesting." came a disturbingly familiar voice, somewhat… older, more mature, more alluring then Ash remembered, but still familiar enough for him to identify as another psychic approached.

Her outfit was similar to what Ash remembered, only undone with a tank top covering her chest, though it… strained somewhat. She also wore black and green anklets and wristbands of some kind.

But the hair was the same dark green and her eyes were the same unnatural black he remembered.

They were in Saffron City's Gym. And they were facing the leader, Sabrina.

"I didn't say you could bring visitors, Anabel." Sabrina said, almost amused as Pikachu began sparking, remembering the last time they were here. And there was no way in hell-

"A Haunter? Interesting. Why would a Haunter make me laugh…" Sabrina said before smiling. "Oh. THAT is VERY intriguing, Ash Ketchum."

'_Keep the fuck out of my head, you freaky bitch._' Ash snapped mentally, but Sabrina smiled. "Amusing indeed. Too bad, child. Anabel is mine. But I am willing to face you for a badge. That's what most of those…" Sabrina paused, musing on a word. "Mundanes usually come here for. Usually I crush them, but...you are worth a fair fight."

"I'll take the badge AND Anabel, you psychotic bitch." Ash said as he released Krokorok, Charmeleon, Mimikyu, Beedrill and Squirtle, knowing this was not going to be… fun.

"You dare? You DARE?!" Sabrina snapped as she began floating, lifting herself into the air with her powers. "She is MINE, you little bastard! And after I destroy you and that little bitch… she will be all that remains."

"Char!" '_Fuck you!_' Charmeleon spat before breathing fire, sending the most powerful flamethrower he had at the gym leader, but Sabrina stopped it, sending the torrent at a far wall.

"I have killed far better in my time, child," Sabrina deadpanned.

"You're not much older then I am!" Ash snapped before Mimikyu spat out a Shadow Ball, Sabrina actually being forced to avoid due to ghosts and psychics mixing… poorly.

"You judge me by my appearance. The folly of the young, child." Sabrina retorted before lightning formed in her hands, firing it off in branching strikes that Pikachu had to redirect with his own Shadow Bolts, one narrowly missing Sabrina's face. "A Shadow Pokemon? Hmm. I'll have to kill that one. Kadabra?"

"Bra." '_As you wish._' said a voice before a Kadabra teleported in behind Pikachu, firing psychic energy at Pikachu, though the Kadabra did not notice something.

CHOMP!

"Rok!" '_Screw you!_' said the newly-evolved croc as he used Bite on the psychic, STAB hitting like a freight train before Krokorok flung the Kadabra into a support pillar, right before Squirtle, who had been transferred in just before the Natu-Porting, Rapid Spun into the psychic lizard's face.

"Fucking turtle." Sabrina spat before dodging a shadow ball from Mimikyu.

"Mi! Mi!" '_Mean lady! Stop being mean!_' Mimikyu said, not entirely grasping what was going on.

Sabrina's eyes narrowed in hate and… if Ash wasn't mistaken… fear.

"Fucking _Ghost_." she spat before fireballs formed in her hands, aimed at Mimikyu.

BANG!

A bullet shot past Sabrina's head, making her lose concentration before looking at Ash, holding his gun and pointing it at her.

'_If I'm going to break my 'no guns' rule, it's with people like you._' he thought at her with self-disgust and spite.

"Too true. Shame you didn't bring a fighting-type. I would be more.. .entertained by destroying it." Sabrina said before Ash opened fire again.

* * *

**RMS **_**Germanic**_ **\- same time**

* * *

"Haw?" '_Why do I have a sudden urge to learn how to fight psychic-types?_' Hawluecha asked.

"Fro." 'No idea. But we can see what you can learn.' Froakie said as Goomy and Sylveon fought once more.

* * *

**Saffron Gym**

* * *

Ash continued firing, Sabrina swatting them out of the air with psy-fire and lightning before sending a gout of flame at the trainer.

It was met by a water gun from Squirtle, who was being covered from a pissed off Kadabra and a new Mr Mime by Charmeleon and Krokorok while Mimikyu used a newly-learned Shadow Swipe to duel with a-

"WOBBBUFFFET!" cried the Wobbuffet as Mimikyu whacked it like a training dummy, making it smack the floor it was on repeatedly.

Misty was more focused on not dying, hiding behind support columns as Ash and Sabrina traded shots.

"Would this count as breaking that rule?!" Misty asked aloud as thunder cracked in the gym.

"_Sabrina was nuts before. Now? Pull out the damn thing already_." Astral Misty said before Misty pulled out the massive light machine gun, taking aim at the rogue gym leader and firing a long burst at the psychic.

Which was proven pointless as she just put up a wall of psy-fire and destroyed the bullets mid-flight.

"Cute. Maybe I can keep you around, too. I could always use a bodyguard I can…" the psychic smiled. "_Play with_ at night."

"_Kill her. Kill her NOW_." the mental Misty demanded, the real one firing continuously before Sabrina sent her flying with a telekinetic shove, more annoyed than hurt.

"I will enjoy breaking you later." Sabrina snapped as Misty saw Ash jump at the gym leader, smacking her with his empty sidearm before punching her in the face.

"Insolent whelp!" the psychic snapped as she lifted Ash telekinetically by the neck, choking him. "I have survived EMPIRES trying to end my life! I have endured the Era of Shadow! YOU WILL NOT KILL ME!"

A bolt of lightning hit Sabrina in the side, black and purple dancing together as Sabrina screamed in pain.

The lighting was caused by Pikachu's Shadow Bolt… and Anabel's own psy-lightning, enhanced by a Beldam, an Abra and the two Natus, with an Eevee barking at Sabrina.

"You stupid bitch!" Sabrina snapped before everything started turning purple as a result of her power bleeding into reality. "YOU ARE MINE! YOUR BODY IS MINE! YOU DARE-"

"OH, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ash yelled as he grabbed Sabrina by the neck, not caring if he would kill her or if she would fry him alive. He was just tired of her ranting.

"I don't give one flying damn about whatever you're talking about, you crazy bitch, just DIE!" he snapped as he choked her, but Sabrina stared into his eyes.

"You… have god-like Aura." she croaked, Ash wondering how she was breathing. "I wanted her… I prefer… female hosts… But you are a better…" Ash then flew backwards and floated, choking once more. "Option."

Ash then felt his body being… invaded. Something was…

'_Oh, FUCK_!' he thought, remembering what happened with the King of Pokelantis. This crazy bitch was trying to possess him!

"YES!" the psychic yelled, almost drunk or… worse. "POWER! UNLIMITED POWER!" Electricity snapped around her as she cackled, her eyes glowing a bright purple, the same glow showing in Ash's own eyes. "I WILL BE QUEEN OF THIS LAND! THEN… OF THIS WORLD!"

* * *

**Saffron City - Silph Co building - 1349 Hours Local Time**

* * *

The TRio had to requisition a teleport Natu just to catch up to the brat, but it wouldn't take them anywhere NEAR Ash.

It kept making 'NATU!'s and Meowth just sent it back to headquarters.

After 45 minutes, they understood why as a storm system that was VERY unnatural formed over Saffron Gym.

"That can't be good." James quickly said, terrified out of his mind.

"No shit, Sherlock." Meowth snarked. "I ain't seen anything like that since the day that huge ass Shadow Pokemon attacked Pellet Town."

Both agents shuddered at the reminder of THAT incident. The fire, the blood…

They barely remembered what happened and they STILL knew to fear it!

"Call the Boss. We might have a serious problem." Jessie said as she fumbled the communicator, trying to get a call to the boss.

* * *

**Indigo Plateau - the same time**

* * *

"That…" Lance declared as what was very much clearly a psychically-generated storm brewed over Saffron City and quickly grew to encompass most of Kanto. "Is not a good thing.

"That damned whore Sabrina has to be responsible for this." Agatha spat as she walked over, cane supporting her body and protected by the otherworldly powers of her Gengar.

"You automatically assume psychics for anything." Lorelei said as the storm began thundering. "It could be Rayquaza having a mood."

"Purple clouds, child." Agatha said. "Psychically infused. I had that experience so long ago with dear Samuel. Sabrina is the cause."

Bruno came over with an old, well-maintained tablet. "Might it have something to do with Ash Ketchum being there?"

"What are you talking about? He's nowhere near Saffron." Lorelei said as she took the tablet and adjusted her glasses to look at it. "He should be near Lavender Town ooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-"

Lance looked at it, seeing 'Saffron Gym, challenger: Ketchum, Ash' on the notifications board.

"Fuck." he cursed, summarizing their situation once Delia found out.

* * *

**Saffron Gym - same time**

* * *

Sabrina cackled as she saw images that words could not describe, of a place beyond this realm.

Once she had this body, she would go there and claim it. Unlimited power was hers! Then all went black.

Sabrina had done this dozens of times. That was a sign she had taken the body as her own. The being known as Sabrina had only taken the body of Sabrina Natsume when she bloomed into her psychic power, then took the gym as her lair to find her next host.

And while she would not like being called 'Ash Ketchum', perhaps with her new power, she could change his form to suit her-

"Welcome."

Sabrina's gaze turned to a being that appeared to be Ash, only wearing some form of royal regalia, with eyes as purple as Anabel's, sitting on a crumbling marble throne.

"You made a mistake, you _stupid_ bitch," he said as he sat up, scowling. "This body is MINE. I got here first, though I can do nothing but mock this fool child."

"Please. I am the Ultimate Psychic!" Sabrina retorted, drunk on power. "I can destroy you with a whim!"

"_Neither_ of us have power here." the man-like-Ash said, scowl on his face. "We are prisoners."

"_You_ are a prisoner. _I_ am Queen." Sabrina said as she tried to reach out, to take control of Ash's body-

Her form was hit with golden lightning and the hands of a god.

The Hands of Arceus itself.

"Queen of nothing." the Ash-like snapped as Sabrina recovered from being almost literally bitchslapped by their creator. "Ash Ketchum is, was and always shall be the Chosen of Arceus. I only took control of him because Arceus was slipping on His Protection that day."

Sabrina cried out as she curled into a ball, glaring at the being. "And who are you?" she demanded.

"I have been known as many things in my time. The King of Pokelantis will suffice for you, wretch." the King answered. "Arceus skimped on protection for Her champion prior to me taking control of him. After that, He put in safeguards to prevent… well, what I did and what you just tried to pull off."

Sabrina groaned as she got to her feet, looking into the black.

"You lie!" she snapped.

"The literal hands of Our Lord just slapped you down. What MORE do you want?" the King retorted. "A signed notice reading 'Stop trying to take over My Champion, signed Your Lord and Lady Creator Arceus'?!"

The black started to change, forming an image of some kind. "Oh, good. He's alive." the King faux-cheered. "You haven't consigned us to the Distortion Realm after all."

Sabrina watched as Ash looked at her old body, which was still breathing and thus alive.

"How… HOW?!" She demanded.

"The boy went _back in time_, you _idiot_. And the way he went back wasn't exactly _normal_. He saw the Time, Space and Distortion Realms without a filter and experienced their touch." the King said as he embraced the psychic from behind.

She struggled against his hold, but he held fast. "Your conscious mind might not have known, but your _subconscious_ knew that wasn't something that should be seen or known." he explained, an evil and lecherous smile forming on his face. "You've seen the unseeable. You know the unknowable." He then trailed a finger over her bare shoulder, making the would-be queen shiver. "Well, the boy's vow prevented me from having a bit of fun, but now that _you're_ here…"

Sabrina looked back in terror before the King pressed his lips on hers and her torment began.

* * *

**In the real Saffron Gym**

* * *

Ash backed away from Sabrina VERY quickly, looking for his sidearm before finding and quickly reloading it as Sabrina began waking up.

'_Take the shot. You have no idea WHY her possession failed, but you HAVE to shoot her_!' Ash reasoned, taking aim with the gun.

It shook in his hands, ash breathing heavily, closing his eyes as he pulled, but no bang before it fell out of his hands.

He didn't chamber a round. Ash was unarmed against a super-psychic and as he looked around, he saw Misty was in serious pain and Anabel was… napping on one of her Natu, for lack of a better term. The bird objected to being a pillow with an indignant 'Natu'.

Then the gym leader opened her eyes, blinking slowly. Her black eyes were now a more gentle shade of dark brown, closer to Ash's own. She stretched her arms, groaning as a joint cracked before focusing on Ash.

The first words out of her mouth were not a declaration of revenge or fury. Just one confused query.

"Daddy?"

Needless to say, Ash was confused as to the recent turn of events.

* * *

**90 minutes later - Saffron Gym entrance**

* * *

A non-Jenny police officer taped off the scene before two doctors carted Misty and Anabel into an ambulance, other officers in suits looking around, collecting and marking bullet holes, shell casings and the results of Sabrina's… outburst.

Speaking of Sabrina, she had refused to call Ash anything that wasn't some form of 'dad'. She truly believed he was her father. Which was weirding him out.

"Ash Ketchum?" said the local officer Jenny as she looked through a notepad. "I'd like to ask you what exactly happened."

"You won't believe me." Ash answered. Honestly, HE wasn't believing it.

"This is Saffron City." Jenny retorted in amusement. "Sabrina used to screw with people even going CLOSE to her gym. But we didn't see you coming in through one of the checkpoints."

"Anabel." Ash answered.

"Right, the other psychic girl's Natus," the Jenny said in understanding. "They teleported you in. And Sabrina… objected."

"She tried to kill us." he said, the gun he had used to fight her in the hands of the cops right now. "Then she looked in my head and…" he just pointed at Sabrina, who was frantically arguing with the police officers blocking her way so she could talk to Ash so he could tell her why she was so… different than she remembered.

He barely understood her frantic, confused yelling, but it came down to 'why am I so tall, why is my hair so long and what are these things on my chest?'.

"Pikachu." '_Well, someone's going to have a hard time explaining the birds and bees to her._' Pikachu said as he sipped a coffee he was 'given' (he took it from one of the cops) before looking at his trainer. "Pikapi?" '_So… how's your foray into fatherhood, Ash?_'

"Don't start, Pikachu." Ash said testily.

"Anyways, we figured Sabrina was trying to kill you. We got your records." Jenny said. "Not even during those attacks on Poke-Tech or the _Olympic_ did you bother pulling out that gun of yours. Trust me, we checked. So would you mind explaining why Sabrina is acting like a twelve-year old and calling you her dad?"

Ash was noticeably uncomfortable and no one could blame him. "She looked into my mind. Next thing I know, I'm waking up, she's waking up and calling me 'dad'."

Jenny laughed nervously. "Eight years older then you and she thinks you're her father." she said before thinking of something. "Nevermind, nine years."

'_Technically, I'm 31, but who's counting two lifetimes?_' Ash thought sardonically. "So… are we in trouble or something?"

"Well, usually, this kind of thing would have you in front of a firing squad." Jenny said uncaringly before getting serious. "But given that she was trying to kill you, attempting a grade-15 mindwipe and had clearly done this before to not just Sabrina over there but others…"

Misty told them about that. Apparently, it wasn't uncommon, though most of the time it was usually someone that was cheating one, maybe two lifetimes, but not...however many Sabrina, or whatever took her over, had.

"Well, you avoid the legal system on a technicality AND the League has seen fit to count this as your Soul Badge match." Jenny finally said, scratching her cheek in embarrassment. "The call came in about ten minutes ago, we've just been trying to figure out how to put it without making you feel uncomfortable…"

'_Too late for that._' Ash thought. He was uncomfortable already.

"DADDY!" cried Sabrina as she finally got past the cop barring her way and tackled her 'father' to the ground. Ash was once more in a place most men would kill to be as Sabrina unwittingly put Ash's face into her cleavage.

Fortunately, Ash was not most men, as he quickly got himself out of there. Last thing he needed was Misty screaming at him.

"Why am I so tall?! I was only half as tall as you when I went to sleep last night!" Sabrina asked, tears in the corners of her eyes. "My hair's longer, too! And…" she poked one of her breasts, confused and scared. "WHAT ARE THESE?!"

"I'm… going to let you two deal with this." Jenny said before getting the hell out of there.

Ash only wished he was capable of doing the same as he tried to escape his 'daughter's' deathgrip.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later (and giving Sabrina Pikachu, which she awwed over before Pikachu swore revenge) Ash was in front of a Hypno, with Misty, fuming over the… Sabrina incident… and Anabel looking scared and confused as to why ash was going to undergo a psychic scan.

Ash had a feeling it was more for police work than anything else, but really, he was too tired to care.

"Just relax. Should only take a moment for Hypno to get your memories of the incident for one of our court reporters." the Jenny said as she looked at Sabrina, who was outside… playing with Pikachu.

"PIKA!" '_I WILL ZAP YOU IN YOUR SLEEP UNTIL YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE BUT TO GIVE ME ASHLINGS!_' Pikachu yelled.

"Keep dreaming, buddy." Ash countered as he felt the Hypno enter his mind, feeling the confusion of the Psychic-Type, followed by fear and terror as it peered deeper and deeper and deeper.

'_No, don't look that deep. Not into my past. ANYTHING but that._' Ash thought.

As if granting his wish, the Hypno left his mind.

And used his psychic powers to snap his own neck, the Hypnosis Pokémon's body falling to the ground in a heap.

The cops began yelling and Ash had a VERY bad feeling about this.

* * *

'_He kills psychics._' Anabel thought to herself as the police officers began examining the Hypno's body and interrogating Ash.

Anabel was a scared psychic. She was powerful, but her abilities hurt people when she discovered them. Then Sabrina offered to take her in and train her.

Her parents didn't bother reading the fine print, if there was any. It was a verbal agreement and they didn't want her accidentally chucking someone into a lake filled with angry Octillery anymore. That resulted in two years of training until she found out what Sabrina, or what inhabited her body, wanted to do with her. She fought Sabrina off, with the aid of Pokemon at the gym (and a wild Eevee) for three years after that.

It was a wonder she was still alive, according to the doctors, let alone in as good a condition as she was.

More importantly, she discovered Ash. The bane of psychics. All she had to do was hide behind him and anyone stupid enough to try and take over her mind would… die.

She made up her mind the moment that Hypno killed himself. Her destiny laid with Ash, for better or worse.

* * *

**Two hours later - Saffron Pokemon Center**

* * *

Pikachu glared at Ash, even as the trainer in question tried not to wince.

The wincing was the result of Sabrina's… newfound childhood and Pikachu, sarcastic and witty as he could be, being naturally cute. Fortunately, Misty was dealing with the older psychic.

It helped that she psychically imprinted on Misty, making the Waterflower girl her 'mother'.

Pikachu, fortunately, did not know this, or he would be insufferably pleased with himself instead of annoyed, as he would finally get his wish.

Even if that wish was the result of psionic mindwiping and mental rebuilding.

The problem Ash had now was Anabel, now wearing an outfit more like a business suit, was refusing to go anywhere else.

She also had her Natus out, one in her hands, one on her head. Ash could not tell which was which.

"Natu." '_Hello, human shield._' said the male Natu.

"And why are you calling me that?" he asked the Natu, who did not look surprised that Ash could understand him.

Then again, Natu facial expressions were… limited. Did the green balls of fluff even blink?

"Natu." '_You kill any psychic attempting an invasive deep probing._' he answered. "Tu-tu." '_My friend is uncomfortable not having an insurance policy in case anyone tries doing what Sabrina did._'

Ash was getting the feeling that feelings of friendship were not the primary reason for people journeying together. He REALLY hated this timeline.

"Tu-tu." '_She also got a sense that you seem to know of her from the future. Care to explain?_' the Natu asked.

"Arceus fucking hates me." Ash declared before the Natu in Anabel's hands jumped onto his head.

"Natu."

* * *

Entry 22: Sabrina Natsume

Sabrina Natsume was once the most promising psychic student to come out of Kanto in nearly 50 years when she suddenly had a change of personality when she turned 12, after which point her parents disappeared. After getting special dispensation to start early, she quickly faced the Elite Four on her first try, only to be stopped by Agatha. Two years later, she took over the abandoned Saffron City Gym as the youngest gym leader to do so until Brock Slate two years later.

Any Team attempt to recruit her ended in failure as she mindwiped them and sent them towards a Shadow Snorlax. Before, only members with Dark-Types were allowed to make any attempts. After Ash Ketchum's battle with her, she has reverted to a semi-child-like state, retaining all of her skills and psionic power, but mentally more like a 13 year old girl that has imprinted on Ketchum as her father. Standing orders now are avoid at all costs: she is very protective of her 'father'.

* * *

Entry 23: Anabel Ilia

At 14, Anabel was another promising psionic under the tutelage of Sabrina Natsume, though at some point the young girl discovered what Sabrina was and began attempting to get away from her. Her attempts would fail until AS70, when she contacted Ash Ketchum and gave her a chance to escape.

Known Pokemon include an Abra, two Natus, a Beldum and an Eevee.

She then began journeying with Ash, which brings us to the second warning: as with Waterflower, do not engage. Her Pokemon are used to life and death struggles for their trainer. Yours aren't.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Anabel. I bet some of you were confused as to who it was prior to this chapter. After all, Anabel doesn't have a member of the Xatu line in any game.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, but Ron likes the birds. Even if they don't like him.**

**Natus: (Repeated pecking)**

**Takeshi Yamato: Anyway, Sabrina's the big one. In canon, she was a semi-broken psychic who just needed a friend. In _Reset Bloodlines_, she was a Social Darwinist Serial Killer who had… a few screws loose. Here? Well, we needed a reason for her to 'want' Anabel, so I basically had the idea of making her Poke-Orochimaru: a centuries-old psychic bitch who prolonged her lifespan by 'jumping' her mind from host to host.**

**Ron the True Fan: (Words between pecks) More like the psionic version of a Goa'uld from _Stargate_. (Grabs Natus) You're here now. Stop pecking me!**

**Natus: Natu! (Confusion pulse and Wilhelm)**

**Takeshi Yamato: (Pointedly ignores Natu and Ron antics) True enough, though Orochimaru was my original inspiration for the idea. Anyway, Anabel was her intended choice for her next 'host', but then Ash came along and… well… let's just say being Arceus' Chosen One has its perks.**

**Ron the True Fan: (Groans as Natus nest) He also saw what no mortal should ever see. THAT is something you can't survive unless you're a psychic. And surviving is… well, Sabrina's mentally 12-13 now. (Pecking resumes)**

**Takeshi: True enough. And now Ash has a daughter who is essentially 8-9 years older than he is. His life is suffering. Not **_**quite**_ **as bad as a certain bug master on a world where people gain superpowers when they're at the lowest frakking points of their lives, but suffering is fast becoming the default state of his life in this story.**

**Ron the True Fan: No fucking clue what you're talking about.**

**Ja Ne!**


	16. Chapter 15: Rolling A Hard Six

**Ron the True Fan: Don't. (Natu looks down from his perch)**

**Takeshi Yamato: Birds still don't like you?**

**Ron the True Fan: They want Jorn.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, can understand that - ever since this whole COVID-19 mess got started, we haven't seen him much.**

**Ron the True Fan: Thank you, I was hoping to avoid mentioning that stupid panic inducing nonsense. (PECK!)**

**Takeshi Yamato: Can't really avoid talking about it these days. And yes, readers, this chapter was written during the COVID-19 Lockdown Fiasco. Hopefully by the time it's posted, the crisis will have passed us by.**

**Ron the True Fan: Considering everyone is being EXCEEDINGLY stupid about it? (Minor edit: posted early due to Canada Day nonsense; will be returning to fridays after this)**

* * *

**Pallet Town, 1408 Hours Local Time, Day 28 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey**

* * *

Delia Ketchum may not have been your ordinary housewife, but she damn well tried to make it seem that way.

So while she was making lunch for her two youngest and eldest children, it was more to keep her from murdering her brother's entire organization. Her Mr. Mime was kinda wanting to END a threat to her progeny's life.

But her primary concern was whether or not her eldest son would come out of his shell and begin that long and winding path to making her a grandmother. For the last few years, she'd been trying to get Ash back to his old, more-outgoing self.

The phone rang, making the former Elite Four put down what she was making, walking over to the phone. The caller on the screen read 'Saffron City Pokemon Center' and while she knew a LOT of people, the people in Saffron… tended to avoid her. There was that incident with Silph Co…

Delia shook her head as she answered the call, finding none other than her eldest son, looking… nervous, turning his head to look to his left a lot.

'Oh this better not be something involving Misty.' Delia thought. 'Well, something BAD involving Misty. Him coming out of his shell would help.'

"_Hi, mom. Uh… I got good news, bad news and… odd news_…" Ash said, rubbing the back of his head.

"What happened, sweety?" Delia asked, hoping the 'bad news' was Ash sleeping with Misty. She might frown on it normally, but hey, anything that would help.

"_The good news is we're ok_." Ash started before nervously chuckling. "_The bad news is we were kinda in the middle of what happened in Saffron a couple of days ago_…"

Delia's eyes narrowed. The 'storm' could be seen for miles.

"And the… odd news?" she asked, curious as to what could be 'odd'. With that, Ash stepped aside to allow someone to enter the view. A woman roughly ten years her junior, with black-green hair, purple eyes…a figure her younger self would kill for, especially the chest…

"_Hi, Gramma_!" the girl said.

Delia froze.

"Gramma?" she asked. '_What the fuck_.' she thought.

* * *

**Pallet Town Outskirts - roughly the same time**

* * *

"Never wanted to come here again." James said.

"Fire tends to scar. Let's get this over with and get back to Saffron." Meowth said, not fond of Pallet Town either.

It may have been famous for other reasons, but for them, it was the site of their pain. They would not bring up why. They didn't want to remember why.

So they avoided the place.

Which was why the Boss made sure to send THEM and not someone else. He enjoyed making them suffer on occasion.

"Let's just go already!" Jessie declared as she charged ahead to the home of Delia Ketchum just to get this over with.

"She knows I have the letter, right?" James asked.

"Just go. Then we can take the Natu back to Saffron." Meowth said.

* * *

Delia continued staring until there was a knock at the door. "Be… right back…" she said before going to the door, finding a letter on the doormat.

With an R on it.

"I'll deal with YOU later." she said before walking back inside, to where her… granddaughter… was waiting on the phone.

Sabrina Natsume, the Saffron Gym Leader, thought she was Ash's daughter. There was a story behind that.

She wanted Ash to tell her first.

She returned to the vid-phone, still somewhat confused. "So, how did this happen and what ELSE do I need to know?" she asked.

"_Uh… can you help my friend out? Her name's Anabel and… I don't know what girls need and Misty's… busy_." Ash stammered out.

Delia was going to need to read that letter.

* * *

**Silph Co building in Saffron City - roughly the same time**

* * *

"Do not fuck this up." ordered Ariana, Team Rocket Admin and one of the more intelligent members of the Team.

Because she knew Ash Ketchum was in the city and wanted this done, in and out, quickly. Silph's Master Ball prototype was ready after nearly 70 years in R&D (Cipher fucking over everyone yet AGAIN like they had nothing better to do) and Team Rocket wanted it.

It could catch literally any Pokemon. From the lowest Rattata to (theoretically) Arceus.

Giovanni wanted it. Combine that with the old Snag system made by the now-LONG defunct Team Snaggem in Orre and… well, even Delia Ketchum would no longer be a threat.

She wasn't stupid enough to think they could take her on NOW - the damned machines were in Orre's deserts somewhere after Cipher unceremoniously kidnapped both their pains in the ass and gave them two rounds to the back of the head - but baby steps.

First step: steal Master Ball. then replicate it. Then profit.

"Ma'am, what if Ketchum shows up?" one of her grunts asked. It was a stupid question, but people had to ask given the status of the Team.

Archer was dead, Proton in a hospital prison… it had to be asked.

"In the unlikely event he shows up, follow orders and do not engage." she ordered. She was NOT in the mood to test Giovanni by threatening his nephew. There were just some things you DON'T do.

Giovanni SHOT Archer for that.

"Yes, ma'am." the grunt replied, spreading the word.

"No worries. If we do this right, he won't even know we were here. Who do we look like, Jessie and James?" Ariana cackled as one of the grunts breached the back door with a shotgun.

* * *

**Saffron City Pokemon Center - 1525 Hours Local Time**

* * *

This was beyond embarrassing for Ash. Having two younger siblings was one thing.

Having a woman that thought she was his daughter that was ten years older then he was didn't help.

"You have REALLY pretty hair, Sabrina!" said Yellow.

Having his little sister and Sabrina interacting was… horrifying.

"You're going to have to tell us how this happened, Ash," said Red.

"You do NOT want to know." Ash said to his younger brother, more out of not wanting to tell him about the other timeline and what caused this.

'No, you don't want them to know. Just go with it.' said that annoying smug voice in his head.

"Yes, Ash, I DO want to know why I have a niece that's twice my age!" Red yelled back at his older brother.

"Pika." '_Your suffering is great and I am enjoying this._' Pikachu said with a light smile.

"Only because you got your wish." Ash retorted back at his starter.

"Pi… ka." '…_Holy shit, you're _right.' Pikachu said with a realization.

"Well, I am going to take Anabel to the nearest clothing store." his mother said. "Those League people never know how to get a proper fitting outfit on a growing girl."

"And… I'm going for a walk." Ash said before taking any excuse to LEAVE.

"Pikapi!" '_Wait! Stay! I want to enjoy this, Ash!_' Pikachu said, following his trainer.

He missed Delia's evil smirk.

"You want him to have a harem, don't you?" Red asked his mother.

"Misty likes him, that Anabel girl won't leave him alone and I know Serena will stop at nothing to get her man, sweety." Delia said sweetly before sighing. "Besides, you know your brother deserves some happiness after what happened."

Red nodded somewhat. "Though he doesn't remember." he said.

"That might be for the best." his mother replied.

* * *

Ash ran two blocks after he left the Pokemon Center. Anything to get away from the madness that was now his life.

"It used to be SIMPLE!" Ash finally said as he stopped, panting, out of breath and generally winded. "Just go around, catch Pokemon, learn about the world and occasionally save it from itself. No muss, no fuss, no romance."

"Pika." '_Your life was never going to be simple._' Pikachu retorted.

"I MISS the old timeline. Everything was simple, uncomplicated and I didn't have to carry around a gun for self-protection!" Ash bemoaned.

"You and me both, son." said a gravelly male voice from behind Ash. The young trainer turned around to see a man in what could only be called a casual business suit, with grey-white hair, a moustache and a face that looked like boiled leather. On his left shoulder was a Natu, perching like he belonged, with a Gible orbiting his feet.

Ash was reminded of his Gible. Where WAS he, anyway?

"I've been forced to carry one of these things for decades." he continued, tapping the weapon on a hip holster. "I never thought I needed one myself until I ran into a Shadow Togetic. Damn thing nearly killed me. But I suppose you don't want to hear an old man ramble, do you, Ash?"

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" Ash asked, weary of people knowing his name for no reason.

"My name is Gaffery. I'm a league psychiatrist." The man said. "YOUR psychiatrist, in fact. You are not an easy man to catch up to. Did you know that?"

…Oh this was the LAST thing he needed. Sure, he had… issues, but he knew his issues and how to deal with them. He didn't need to talk to someone that didn't know what he'd been through telling him how to deal with his feelings!

"I don't think I need a shrink." Ash said, backing away.

"The league thinks otherwise. And you aren't the first to think they didn't need help." Gaffery said, his Natu nodding along. "It's a league requirement. Every trainer not assigned to a gym or watch post has a psychiatrist assigned to them. In your case, me."

"Look-" Ash started before he felt something land on his head.

"Natu." '_Yo._' said the Natu, which was female. It was Anabel's female natu. "Natu!" '_Porting time!_'

With that, Ash disappeared in a flash, making Gaffery sigh.

"Seriously, why do people hate us?" the old man asked.

Maybe you pry into their lives and make them feel like shit? (WHACK!)

* * *

**Clothing Shoppe - Five minutes later**

* * *

Sabrina smiled as she chatted with her aunt, who was… tiny.

Weren't her aunt and uncle supposed to be bigger than her?

Aunty Yellow was so short! So was uncle Red!

"And that's why Ash has his hat!" Yellow said, finishing her story before Red sighed.

"He's not the only one with a League hat." he said, gesturing to his own.

"Yeah, because you got his older one!" Yellow said mockingly before Red scowled at her and lunged at her, beginning what appeared to be a chase.

One both of them enjoyed, from the small smile on Red's face.

"So, it was true." said an old man, making her jump, looking at the man. "Sabrina Natsume thinks she's a little girl. Interesting."

"W-Who are you?" she stammered, looking for her mother.

"Not to fear. My name's Gaffery. I'm your..father's psychiatrist." he said, sounding uncomfortable calling her father that.

"Natu." said the Natu on his shoulder before hopping on her head.

"Don't mind him: Natu likes to do that. He's just going to make a scan of your mind." Gaffery said.

"...Shouldn't Daddy be here before you do things like that?" Sabrina asked.

"Normally, yes. But you ARE a gym leader and an adult." he said, looking up and down her form. "Your current behaviour to the contrary."

"I still want him here before you do anything." Sabrina said, mimicking her grandmother's voice when she was angry.

"Good Lord, you're even starting to SOUND like them now." he muttered.

* * *

**The same time - Near Silph Co building**

* * *

"So...why are you here and not with Anabel?" Ash asked the Natu on his head.

"Natu." '_Technically, neither of us were caught. I can pick whatever trainer I damn well please._' she answered, nesting on his head. "Natu." '_And that shrink was bothering you._'

"I have issues. And I have to work them out on my own," Ash replied.

"Natu." '_Something to do with reeking of psychic residue that is _clearly _Celebi's?_' Natu asked.

"So you can tell." Ash half-asked, pulling out a Pokeball for Natu.

"Natu." '_Only psychic types and Aura users._' Natu said before tapping the ball and turning to energy before being sucked in, only to be let out seconds later to nest on his head again. "Natu!" '_Sweet Guardians, that was unpleasant!_'

"Pika." '_Tell me about it._' Pikachu said on Ash's left shoulder. Pikachu hated his Pokeball for good reason: he was a semi-purified Shadow Pokemon and that thing BURNED when he went in. In the other timeline, it was a prison when he was caught that was also somewhat defective and hurt him.

"Might've gotten a bad one. Can I trust you not to wander off, Natu?" ash asked before petting the bird somewhat.

"Natu!" '_Of course. I might be yours, technically, but only because of Anabel. You keep her safe and I'll stick around._' Natu answered.

Ash snorted. The safest place to be was anywhere he wasn't.

A point proven by the sound of breaking glass inside the Silph building. Most people would avoid the place with a vengeance after the sound of violence. Not Ash.

No, he was stupid enough to charge in and fight off whatever was breaking in. Case in point as he ran towards the building.

* * *

Reji Tokasaka was a low-ranking grunt in the Team, so he was on guard duty outside the Silph building. No one gets in, no one but Rockets gets out.

The black haired grunt was not stupid, though. Not the sharpest tool in the rocket gang, but…

Well, when he saw Ash Ketchum running towards the door, he was stuck between pulling out his gun and shooting him and running away and forgoing his duty to guard the door by following Ariana's orders to avoid Ash at all costs.

Ketchum resolved his conflict with a swift rebuttal to the face courtesy of his gloved fist slamming into his face at high speed.

* * *

Ariana holstered her Rocket Admin sidearm after shooting some corporate jackass from the Pernon Group that was sent here to talk to Silph's higher management.

Asshole needed to leave Kanto. Fucking Unovans.

Her musing on how she hated that damn country with a passion ended with her earpiece going off.

"_Ma'am, we have a problem on the first floor_." one of her grunts reported.

"What would that be?" she said before retrieving her sidearm as the Pernon rep groaned in pain and putting two rounds into her skull. "We have control of everything save the top floors."

"_Ash Ketchum's been sighted on the CCTV monitors entering the building! Your orders_?" the grunt asked, her voice laced with confusion.

"Damn it. Contain him. Do NOT injure him in any way or I will tell Giovanni it was your doing!" she barked before reloading her weapon. "I will deal with the president."

Her Murkrow flew back to her shoulder, perching like some malevolent Natu.

Murkrows were better, anyways.

* * *

"Natu." '_I feel insulted and want to murder whatever talks shit about me._' Natu said on Ash's head.

"I know the feeling." Ash said as he kicked a Rocket in the side. They never pulled out their sidearms, just sent Pokemon at him like the old days. They were made short work of by Ash's team.

"Pikachu." '_punching bag time it is._' Pikachu stated. "Pika?" '_Call in the rest, too. We can clear the building faster and get these Rockets to fly._'

"Pretty sure only Jessie, James and Meowth do that." Ash said, but pulled out his Pokedex to do just that.

It made sense, after all.

* * *

(**BGM: Bombing Mission - Final Fantasy 7 Remake Version**)

The grunts patrolled the floors, hunting for anything that moved. They didn't know they themselves were being hunted.

"Char!" '_Surprise, assholes!_' declared a Charmeleon as he jumped from a vent in the wall and slashed at a Grunt, making him fall to the ground in pain, releasing his Pokemon, a Koffing and Rattata, in the process.

"Char." '_Oh, good. Punching bags._' Charmeleon declared to their horror.

Another grunt was barreled down by a Noctowl that Steel Winged him in the head, another, a Squirtle Hydro Pumping him into a wall.

This pattern was repeated basically everywhere, with the grunts getting their asses handed to them by Ash's Pokemon.

With one exception, as Ash was charging up the stairs, Pikachu zapping any grunt that was on guard duty into the walls. One fell off a railing to her doom, straight to the ground floor. At least it was only from the fifth floor. She might survive.

"Pika!" '_Let's kick their asses! Maybe we'll find Giovanni here!_' Pikachu said as he ran/jumped ahead of his trainer.

"He doesn't seem the type. Natu, can you teleport us higher?" Ash asked the bird.

"Natu." '_Nope. Teleport dampeners on the higher floors._' she answered.

"I hate these guys." Ash said as he reached the 20th floor, where Pidgeotto and Snivy were having a ball tossing an Electrode into a wall repeatedly until it was knocked out.

"Snivy." '_This is the most fun I've had since kicking Team Plasma's ass back in Unova. You should've pulled us in to kick Flare's asses in Kalos!_' Snivy said with a smug grin.

"Not my style, Snivy. I swapped Pokemon every region to give the new guys a chance." Ash said before a bullet went past his head. The source was a grunt that had likely needed to change his pants now after rounding a corner and blindly firing at Ash.

"Oh, FUCK!" cried the grunt as he dropped the gun, arms in the air.

It did not save him from the wrath of an angry Bulbasaur that rammed into his legs from behind and used his vines to dislocate his arms and slam him into a wall. Repeatedly and VERY hard.

"Bulba." '_No one tries to hurt Ash. Anyone that does SUFFERS._' the ambassador declared with a heavy Vine Whip to the back of his head.

"THAT was unnecessary!" Ash said. "He missed! You could have just used Sleep Powder on him!"

"Bulba-saur." '_I was going to. Then he shot at you._' Bulbasaur said. "Bul." '_No more attempts on your life will go with a slap on the wrist. They try to kill you, we kill them RIGHT back. No more kid gloves._'

"Yeah, let's save that for ones that actually hurt me." Ash said before going to a door, finding it locked. "Damn it."

"If you're Team Rocket, know this! I'm armed! I got a big gun and am not afraid to shoot you!" said a terrified man on the other side.

"I'm not a Rocket! Are you ok in there?" Ash asked, with the door unlocking and his face meeting a shotgun barrel, but it didn't fire as the man, wearing a bloody business suit, was in no condition to fire it.

"Son of a bitch. You're not one of them. Good." he said before opening the door, getting a glare from all of Ash's Pokemon before their trainer glanced back at them to make them stop. "They're after the Master Ball prototype. If they get it, no Pokemon is safe from them. Not even legendaries. You gotta help get them out of the building!"

"Already on it. My Pokemon are beating the daylights out of every Rocket Grunt here," Ash said with a grin. "Should get them ready for my next gym match."

"A League trainer? But you're just a kid!" he said before shaking his head. "Fuck it. A trainer's a trainer." the man then retrieved a Pokeball from the desk. "Here. They don't know about this. I saw that you have a Pokedex. It'll automatically register the Pokemon inside to you."

"I… kinda have a lot of Pokemon already." Ash said sheepishly. He still had to catch the rest of his Kanto team and make sure Lapras was safe at the Orange Islands. Which was the only reason he even planned to go there now: screw the Orange League.

"It's a Lapras. They're endangered enough and you're a better choice then those Rockets!" he said. "Go and deal with the grunts. And watch out: they have an Admin with them."

'_Like Proton and Archer._' Ash thought, knowing one of them was at Mount Moon and both of them were on the _Olympic_. Misty tossed him out a hatch, apparently.

"Alright, then." he said as he took the Pokeball. '_Going to be weird having two Lapras._' he thought to himself.

* * *

Ariana watched as a Chikorita and Cyndaquil toyed with one of her grunts from a floor above before that grunt was slammed into a window, with his body hanging halfway out of the building.

"Ketchum's been busy." she muttered as one of the new ones, a Pidove of all things, clawed out one of her higher-ranking grunt's eyes. "And they don't like us that much."

A point proven as another one was shoved into a door by a Phanpy using Rollout on him, breaking his back and leaving him a screaming mess.

'_Note to self: update the intel files on Ketchum._' she thought with wide and horrified eyes before sighting the boy himself.

"_Ma'am, he's fucking us over! I'm taking him out_!" one of her grunts armed with an old rifle snapped over the comms.

"You do that, we all die! He's Delia's son! Giovanni's nephew!" she yelled at the dumbass.

"_Taking the shot_!" he said, Ariana watching at the idiot took aim at his boss' nephew.

And the crack from that rifle echoed in the building before the 7.92mm round slammed into Ash Ketchum's chest.

Ariana's clinical side saw the shot was sloppy, made from panic and lack of time, as it hit the boy's right lung. A second shot hit lower, impacting his liver.

"I ORDERED YOU NOT TO FIRE!" she screamed.

The less logical side of her was panicking. Giovanni was going to kill them.

* * *

Ash fell into shock in moments, noticing that he had a hard time breathing and his chest hurt.

"PIKAPI!" '_ASH!_' Pikachu cried as Ash fell backwards, choking on his breath.

"Dove!" '_I got the motherfucking bastard!_' Pidove cried before flying towards the sniper, screaming following as the bastard in question was slowly but painfully put down.

Pikachu ran to his trainer, who was coughing up blood in copious amounts, trying to hold him down. Not a wise choice with someone fifty times your mass, as Ash was still coughing heavily.

"Pikapi!" '_Stay with me, Ash! I am not losing you again!_' Pikachu begged as Ash stopped thrashing around. Stopped moving entirely, in fact.

"PIKA!" '_NO!_' the mouse cried. This was it? All they went through, only to die from some bits of lead hitting him?

"Na… tu." '_I will keep him alive. He's in psychic stasis._' said Natu, as Pikachu looked closely at Ash, seeing a purple layer of energy covering his body. "Natu." '_Go. These wastes of flesh tried to kill him. Make them pay._'

Pikachu started taking in deep breaths, his nature as a Shadow Pokemon taking over somewhat.

"Pikachu." '_Everyone fucking DIES._' he spat.

* * *

Ariana ran higher and higher up the stairs, hyperventilating to get as far away as possible when black lightning fried one of the grunts behind her, his scream barely getting out before he caught fire.

She didn't need any further excuses to get the fuck out of there: Shadow Pokemon were bad enough, but that Shadow Pikachu combined the usual starter/trainer bond with the rage of a Shadow Pokemon. In short, if she didn't get out of there, she was going to die.

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" she cursed as she pulled out her machine pistol and emptied the magazine at the door handle, kicking it open and exiting onto the roof, glancing behind her to see the grunt directly behind her getting a Shadow Bolt that killed him and set him on fire.

"HONCHKROW, GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" she yelled as she released the Big Boss Pokémon and climbed on, escaping from the building.

She panted, trying to get her heartrate down to an acceptable level as they flew from the building. This was before her communicator rang with the Boss' ringtone.

'_Oh, shit._' she thought before chuckling nervously. No, Ash getting hurt was that rifleman's fault. She gave orders NOT to fire, to flee on sight. She wasn't in trouble.

She answered, Giovanni's face appearing on the built-in screen. "_Report._" he demanded.

"Well…" she started before explaining it slowly and strainingly.

Giovanni's reaction was… atypical. He punched out the screen, which auto-disconnected the call.

"Shit." she spat. Well, she was screwed. Maybe retiring wasn't such a bad idea after all.

* * *

**Saffron City Hospital - 3 hours later**

* * *

Misty Waterflower was… better now. She could stay away from Ash for some time now, but she didn't think she'd ever be away from him for weeks or months.

And his nature, which could very easily be called 'hapless hero', had gotten him hurt.

She ran through the hospital, bowling over doctors, nurses and knocking over gurneys in her rush to get to where Ash was.

"If he dies, I am going to bring him back, kill him again, then bring him back just to give him a reason to stay!" her mental self screamed.

She turned a corner, then slammed into a man in a business suit without looking, knocking them both down to the floor.

"Damn it!" he said as he recovered from the shock. "Watch where you're going!"

"I just got told my boyfriend was shot!" Misty snapped back, getting a slow clap from her past self.

The man groaned as he got to his feet. "There's only been one shooting victim and he saved my building from being overrun with Rockets." he said. "He's your boyfriend?"

"Ash Ketchum, yes!" she snapped in annoyance. She didn't have time to waste with this guy and turned to leave.

"Wait." he said before offering her a Pokeball with a purple top and two ridges. "This is for him. A token of my gratitude."

Misty just took the ball and continued running towards where they were operating on Ash.

"She could have apologized." he huffed as he straightened out his suit.

* * *

"He needs to stop throwing himself into the fire." Gaffery said to his Gible as he chewed on a bar of pig iron.

"Gible." said the Gible.

"I know, it's part of the complex people like him have." Gaffery replied back to the land shark before she looked back at him.

"Gible, Gib-Gible-ble." she said before hopping to the floor.

"Could be worse. His file said he was so emotionally crippled it would be a wonder if he would ever leave Pallet Town." Gaffery said as he began correcting said file. "I'm amazed he even got to Pewter, let alone Saffron."

"Natu." said the Natu as he hopped off his trainer's shoulder. "Natu, Natu."

"You honestly think he'll win a League? He seems the type to self-handicap himself." the shrink asked.

"Na-tu." Natu said nodding.

"Guess we'll find out." Gaffery said.

* * *

Emergency medical stasis was never fun to work on, but it froze Ash in suspended animation while the doctors repaired the damage the bullets did, draining the lung of blood.

"Team Rocket is going to BURN for this." Delia spat as she watched them operate on Ash from the viewing area above the theater.

"Mom, don't issue threats you can't deliver on," Red said as he kept Yellow from watching. "You taught us that."

"And you're right to mention that, sweety." Delia said, motherly as always before hate filled her expression. "In this case, though, I am MORE than capable of delivering on this one. I used to be Elite Four before I had Ash, you know."

Red's expression turned from doubtful to...well, terrified would be close. This was his mother, after all. You weren't supposed to be scared of _your mother_.

"Oh. Oh, shit." Red said before Delia flicked him on the forehead.

"Language. Your sister's mouth rubbed off on your brother, I don't want it rubbing off on you, too." his mother said sternly.

That changed nothing.

* * *

**RMS **_**Germanic **_**\- 150 kilometers from the Sinnoh/Obvilia border - 0819 Hours local time - Day 29**

* * *

"He did WHAT?" Pernon asked.

"Apparently, he mindwiped Sabrina. She thinks he's her dad now." Rin said. "Anyone ELSE find that creepy?"

"Uh…"

"Say what I think you're going to say and I will make sure that where you're going, you won't need eyes to see." Rin snarled.

Kyril chuckled nervously. "Ok. Well, look on the bright side. We finally have access to Saffron's production facilities." he said. Saffron was the home of Nihon's aviation industry and while the plants were intact… well, Team Rocket, combined with Sabrina, made getting them back in action impossible.

No one wanted to work with a crazy-ass psychic in town. Now that psychic thought she was a little girl again and was basically harmless.

If not… well… a little girl.

"Kyril, get your head out of the gutter or I swear to Arceus and Giratina I will MAKE you." Rin warned.

"Old habits?" Pernon said with a nervous grin before Rin growled… which was overshadowed by an angry scream.

"What the hell was that?" both asked.

* * *

Goomy questioned the sanity of Ash's Kalosian mate many times during the original journey in Kalos.

Now, he was not questioning if she was crazy, he was questioning HOW crazy she was from the safety of under a nice wrought iron bed.

"I WILL KILL HER! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" Serena bellowed as she loaded a bolt into her ratcheting crossbow. "KILL HER!"

"Serena, dear, I know you're upset-" Grace started before Serena fired, sending the bolt shooting past her, out an open window and out to sea.

Where it impacted some poor Team Aqua schmuck and exploded, not that anyone noticed or really cared outside of Team Aqua.

"SHE TRIED! TO KILL! MY HUSBAND!" Serena screamed. "TEAM ROCKET WILL BURN FOR THIS!"

The news only came in a few minutes ago: yesterday, Ash Ketchum foiled a raid on Silph Co's headquarters led by Rocket Admin Ariana and apparently, she or one of her grunts shot him. His Pokemon had likely gotten revenge, as was their right, but that meant nothing to Serena.

"Goo?" '_Is she done being scary?_' Goomy asked.

The rest of Ash's team were hiding with him, making their own cries. But all translated as '_no_'.

"Fen!" '_I want to burn those Rockets down to size!_' Fenniken barked.

Like Trainer, like starter, it seemed.

* * *

**15 kilometers from Fuchsia City en route to Celadon - 1307 Hours local time - Day 31**

* * *

"Ash has all the luck, bad and good." Gary Oak muttered to himself as he listened to his Pokegear talk about how Ash's condition was 'stable, barely' and how Rota's nobility were outright PISSED at Team Rocket to the point where the only thing keeping them from invading Kanto was the permission of the Champion and their reigning king. Or heir, in this case.

Ash was in surgery and his siblings hadn't appeared at court, so that wasn't happening.

Still, he took this time to get caught up. His grandfather had made good on his threat, so he was releasing more than he caught. Kept a Horsea and his Squirtle evolved during his last match near Lavender Town, so now he was going to face Sabrina after kicking Erika's ass. Her three badge team was the best bet to warm them up for Sabrina.

* * *

**6 hours later - Celadon Gym**

* * *

"Wait, Saffron Gym is closed?" Gary asked, confused after getting his Rainbow Badge from Erika.

"Yes, it is." Erika said, dusting off her kimono. "Apparently, Sabrina's suffered a breakdown and her gym was closed. I think it had something to do with…"

Gary waited for her to finish before hearing a light snore.

Narcoleptic woman couldn't even finish a sentence without falling asleep, could she?!

Erika then woke up. "Oh. Sorry. My medication ran out last week." she said. Gary did not believe her. "Ah, yes, that boy the Rotans are calling their prince did something. She thinks she's his daughter now."

Gary stared in silence. Then a perverted part of his brain asked if hitting on a woman that thought she was your friend's daughter was breaking the Bro Code.

Gary ignored that part of his brain for pondering later. "Well, there are a lot of minor gyms and I only need eight badges, right?" he asked.

"Usually, but if you don't have two of…" Erika said, trailing off as she fell asleep again, making Gary fume for a few minutes before she woke up again. "...the major ones, it's frowned on. I fell asleep again?"

"YES." Gary ground out. He was tired of this. It took him four hours to get to Celadon and the match lasted two thanks to her falling asleep so often.

"Oh. You can go. Just get as many minor ones to make up for your lack of a Marsh Badge." Erika said before falling backward on the grass, snoring loudly.

Gary finally released the scream he had been holding in for hours.

* * *

**Viridian City Gym - 1602 hours local time**

* * *

"Delia, I think your son's Pokemon dealt with the offending idiot. The Admin in charge of that debacle even ordered them not to engage unless necessary and NOT with firearms," Giovanni said to his glowering sister.

"_That is _not_ an excuse, Giovanni,_" she snapped. He was in deep shit. "_You have two weeks before I start ripping your organization apart piece by bloody piece._"

"You knew this would happen! You can't protect Ash from everything!" Giovanni yelled.

"_A few scratches, I can live with. A broken arm from a fall isn't serious. Your men SHOT my boy,_" Delia all but roared. "_Two weeks, Giovanni! Leave the Team for good or I rip it apart AND tell Lance you're the Boss. Then you'll have the entire Elite Four PLUS me after you!_"

It was well and good that Giovanni had masterful control over his bodily functions. Otherwise, he would have needed to change his pants right then and there.

"You can't leave Yellow and Red alone." Giovanni pointed out.

"_I'll put them up with Lorelei. She is their godmother, after all,_" Delia admitted. "_After that… I will destroy Team Rocket. Two weeks. Get moving._" With that, the call ended.

Giovanni pursed his lips before cursing well and truly. "Fuck." he spat.

He didn't want to accept that offer that was made before Ash left Pallet, but what the hell: he was screwed anyways. Might as well bring as many down with him as he could.

* * *

**Cherrygrove City Port - 0949 hours local time**

* * *

A cargo ship pulled into port, the crews working on getting loading ramps into position to unload the ship.

Vun-vun.

"What the hell was that?" asked one of the dock loaders.

Vun-vun.

"Hell if I know." one of his friends said, not noticing the fin with a notch gliding past behind one of the containers.

Behind aforementioned containers, Treecko looked at Gible. "Treecko." '_HOW do you do that?_' he asked.

"Gible." '_No idea, don't care! Come on! Let's get to a patch of open earth so I can dig us back to the ranch!_' Gible said.

"Tail." '_The ones that were caught have to get to Ash. And he's where? The Treeckos can go to the ranch. WE need to find Ash._'

"Bi." '_He's in Saffron City._'

All of them jumped at the sound of Celebi's voice as she suddenly appeared beside them. "Koal." '_Don't do that._' Torkaol demanded.

"Celebi." '_Stealth time travel is not EASY. I'll teleport the slower ones to Saffron Gym._'

"GIB!" '_NO! I've heard stories about that crazy bitch!_' Gible said.

"Bi." '_She's dealt with and I am not in the mood. I'll dump you outside Saffron and the ones that don't want to be caught at the Oak Ranch._' Celebi said testily. "Bi." '_Don't like it? Too bad: I've been dealing with annoyed legendaries for the last three weeks and I am NOT in the mood._'

With that, Celebi unceremoniously teleported them away.

* * *

**En Route to Fuchsia City - 1025 hours local time - Day 33**

* * *

Gary walked down the paths with a seemingly carefree look, but he was still keeping an eye out. There was relaxed, then there was dead. Shadow Pokemon lurked in the route between Celedon and Fuchsia and while he and Ash frowned on guns, Gary was more practical about it. Until something purified the whole lot of them, they needed to protect themselves.

Gary's eyes picked up a figure down the road. He (well, Gary thought it was a he) had a dark purple jacket on with black pants. His hair was just as dark purple as his jacket, with an especially dark scowl on his face.

Well, the old laws were still practiced. Ash only fought people willing to fight and so did Gary. Even if Gary was worse in the fighting area: Ash was a freaking natural.

"Well, you're glaring at me hard enough to bore a hole through my head." Gary said once he finally got in earshot of the trainer. "Presuming you want to fight?"

"Obviously." the trainer spat back, sounding hoarse. Did he have a cold or something?

"Well, give me a second and we'll get started-" Gary started before the other teen scoffed.

"You're Gary Oak. Paul Ikari." the now-named Paul said, pulling out what appeared to be a Rowen-model Pokedex. "You have a pokedex. Use it, dumbass."

Gary scowled himself. This guy was an asshole. Well, time to put him down a few pegs.

"Six on six. I will kick your ass." Gary said, pulling out a Pokeball.

"Boasting is for fools." Paul said as he pulled out his own Pokeball. "You rely on your grandfather's name too much."

Gary growled as he sent out his Horsea, who would make short work of whatever this guy would toss out.

"Murkrow, stand by for combat!" Paul barked as he sent out a raven with a crooked beak and a witch's hat on its' head, flapping its' wings. "Krow!" cried the Murkrow.

"The hell? Those things don't appear in Kanto." Gary said confusedly, to which Paul huffed.

"Pathetic. You spent no time learning at your grandfather's feet." he said in dismissal. "Murkrow appear in small numbers at the Rota/Kanto border. And your horsea is nothing but practice material."

Gary scowled. "Too bad for you." he spat. "I've been teaching Horsea some tricks. Icy Wind!"

"Horse!" cried Horsea before the air became frigid.

"Evade!" Paul commanded, Murkrow flapping his wings to get airborne, barely getting up before Horsea exhaled.

And cold wind slammed into the flying/dark-type, causing the feathers in his wings to become rigid and grow ice crystals, making him lose lift. "KROW!" he cried before slamming into a tree.

"Again!" Gary ordered, Horsea inhaling and exhaling again, letting out cold air that made the bird faint on impact on the ground.

"Nice work, Horsea!" Gary said, Horsea cheering with him.

"Pathetic. If I didn't need that Murkrow, I'd get rid of it." Paul said as he returned the bird to his Pokeball. "Just means I need to put it through a more intensive regimen."

"You serious? Your Murkrow only lost because his hat was too heavy." Gary said.

"And that is what I will remedy. It will adapt or it will be discarded." Paul spat before tossing another Pokeball.

The Pokemon released was… well, Ash's starter would know it. He was one at one point.

"Pi!" cried the Pichu as he (it was hard to tell with Pichus) was released, Paul glaring at it.

"Are you serious? Pichus aren't meant for battle! You have to raise them-" Gary started, but Paul clearly didn't care.

"Thundershock." he ordered, Pichu struggling to generate the electricity to shoot off the lightning bolt, hitting Horsea in the muzzle.

It didn't knock horsea out, but Pichu wasn't uneffected, panting tiredly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Gary said before Paul glowered at the Kantoan trainer.

"Power is the only thing that matters. Force matters and you will get what you want." he said. "Thundershock."

"Icy Wind!" Gary countered, but Horsea buzzed with static, showing he was paralyzed before Pichu fired off another bolt, zapping the Dragon Pokemon into unconsciousness. "Damn it!"

"You should have switched out, idiot." Paul said, scowling. "Type advantage and power are all that matter in battle. That 'believe in your Pokemon' bullshit will get you nowhere."

Gary grinned. "Really?" he said before returning his fainted Horsea. "Then get owned!" he then tossed out a new Pokemon, one common but dangerous in Kanto.

"Dig!" cried a mole-like creature.

"Diglett. Seriously?" Paul said.

"Sand-Attack and Mud Sport!" Gary commanded, Diglett obeying by spewing out sand into Pichu's face, followed by mud in quick succession before Paul could return the Tiny Mouse.

He huffed. "Lucky shot." Paul then returned Pichu, grinning. "Turtwig, stand by for battle!" he yelled, sending out a Pokeball that spat out a dour-looking turtle with a bush on his back. "Turt." he said.

"A Sinnoh starter. Grass/ground-type." Gary said in confusion. "You're from Sinnoh?"

"That wasn't obvious?" he spat. "Arceus, you ARE pathetic. Razor Leaf."

"Turt!" cried Turtwig, sharpened leaves flying from his back towards Diglett.

"Dig!" Gary ordered, Diglett obeying quickly to avoid the leaves, which shot past and hit Gary in the leg, making small cuts on his left clave.

"Dig can be bypassed. Absorb, downwards." Paul ordered, Turtwig directing his grass-type energy downwards to leech at the earth and anything in it.

It worked like a charm. After a minute, the Diglett surfaced, moaning...well, pathetically as Gary returned him.

"A modicum of intelligence would have saved you." Paul spat. Gary did not take that well.

"GO, GROWLITHE!" Gary roared, sending out the Puppy Pokemon.

"Growl!" barked the puppy, making Paul scoff.

"You're an idiot. Turtwig isn't just a grass-"

"Ember!" Gary snapped, Growlithe spitting out fire at the grass turtle, causing the leaves on his head to catch fire.

"Idiot. Earth Power." Paul ordered, Turtwig glowing before slamming his front legs on the ground, causing a minor earthquake. Growlithe tried jumping to avoid the attack, but the ground was rent up under his feet, resulting in the puppy breaking his leg and taking the full force of the attack.

"Growlithe!" Gary yelled before running to his wounded Pokemon.

"Empathy is a waste in battle, the pathetic moron." Paul snapped, getting a glare from Gary. "Kantoians are all the same. Pathetic."

Gary pulled out another Pokeball as he returned Growlithe. "Go!" he yelled.

And out of the ball came a seemingly sleepy lizard-like Pokemon.

"Abra." said the Abra, Paul huffing.

"An Abra?" he asked before the Psychic-type stood up and teleported.

With a steaming fist slamming into his Turtwig's face. Ice Punch.

"Well played." Paul spat.

* * *

**Near Saffron City - 1250 Hours Local Time - Day 33**

* * *

A fin appeared near a bush.

A fin with a notch.

"Gible!" '_Digging time!_'cried Ash's Gible as he dove into the earth.

Treecko poked his head into the hole. "Tree." '_Land sharks._' he muttered.

"Tail?" '_And you would want something else?_' Tailow asked, cocking her head.

"Treecko." '_No. But he's so playful for a Pokemon that can be so powerful._' he replied before going into the shark tunnel.

"Gli…" '_Please, no more tunnel…_' Gligar asked before he was shoved into the hole unceremoniously by Turtwig and Chimchar, then dragged along kicking and screaming.

That's what you get for fucking off for months at end, in Sinnoh and the ranch.

* * *

(Login permissions rescinded)

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: No lore dumps in the Codex this time, but instead… something fun.**

* * *

Omake: Unforeseen Consequences

Daniels eyed the storm brewing over the gym warily. Command wanted the kid and they wanted him no matter what.

"Ok, just go in, tag him-" he said as the wind picked up and the smell of sulfur entered his nostrils.

He turned around to see a LOT of big, angry armored men with giant guns, chainsaw swords and did I mention they were on FIRE?

"Oh… shit." Daniels muttered before they piled on him, shooting and stabbing wildly in _utter silence_.

* * *

Two other temporal agents looked at each other as they watched the one-sided essential ass whooping.

"Nope." said the woman as she backed away with her male partner.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: In case you are wondering, yes. That was the Legion of the Damned from **_**Warhammer 40K**_**. I used to dismiss it. Then I discovered the Emperor and I share MANY things in common and that the main reason I hated the series was the fanbase being completely STUPID 90% of the time.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Haven't gotten a chance to get too into it, myself, but I do like reading 40K fanfic on occasion. Especially fics dealing with Ciaphas Cain, HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!**

**Ron the True Fan: If you ever do that again, I will sic the Emperor's Children on you. (Fun fact for those unaware: that is a fate WORSE than death)**

**Takeshi Yamato: Hey, it's supposed to be said that way! The guy just wants a quiet desk job, but his luck ends up throwing him into danger and bumbling his way out of it in such a way that everyone calls him a hero!**

**Ron the True Fan: And that is half the reason I hated the series. Regardless, we are only missing two and a half regions of Pokemon now. Most of the Kanto crew (and for those wondering, no, I did not forget Aipom. To finally shut everyone who is screaming at me, I will spoil. She's in the Safari Zone with the Tauros. Stop PMing me that I forgot. THERE IS A **_**PLAN**_**, DAMN IT!) are caught and the rest...well, the rest are waiting.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Well, looking forward to the Rocket beatdown. Delia is pissed, and is going to be on the warpath. She won't be alone, of course.**

**(Meet the Team jingle plays)**

**Ron the True Fan: Oh, crap.**

**Ja Ne!**


	17. Chapter 16: Reunion

**Ron the True Fan: (Listens to Purging with My Kin by StringStorm as Daniels gets repeatedly… screwed by the Legion of the Damned) I _love_ these guys.**

**Takeshi Yamato: You hate idiocy, and love anyone that _destroys_ said idiocy. That's pretty much a given.**

**Ron the True Fan: Yeah, but these guys kill EVERYTHING that's a threat to people. Mushrooms, traitors, unfriendly aliens…(images of aforementioned enemies of the Imperium of Man in piles of pain, twitching on occasion) I _like_ them.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Heh. Well, let us begin, as the humiliation and destruction of Team Rocket begins.**

* * *

**Saffron City Gym - 1245 hours local time - Day 33 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

Pikachu stared at his fellow Pokemon. As Ash had essentially become the legal guardian for Sabrina (who was now starting to act closer to her actual age) that meant he could use the gym as he wished.

He was still comatose, so his Pokemon took the gym over.

"Pikachu." '_I have come to the realization that we are out of shape. All of us,_' Pikachu said. "Pikapi." '_We're not in the shape we were before we went back. Ash paid for that. That changes NOW._'

The worst part was, Pikachu was wearing a hat. Not Ash's, but a hat belonging to a military man.

"Noc." '_You got that from Surge, didn't you?_' Noctowl asked before tilting his head as if hearing something.

"Pikachu." '_Damn straight. And I will use it to whip you all back into the shape you were in the Ever Grande Conference. I am no exception._' Pikachu said.

Vun-vun.

"Char?" '_Anyone else hear that?_' Charmeleon asked.

"Cynda." 'I think I did.' Cyndaquil said as she looked around.

"Pika!" '_Focus, damn it! We need to be ready!_' Pikachu snapped. "Pikapi-kachu." '_We're going to start training TODAY. There will be no second-_'

Vun-vun.

"Pika?!" '_What the hell was that?!_' Pikachu said before the ground rumbled and exploded under his feet.

And he suddenly felt something latch onto him.

A familiar something.

CHOMP!

"Gible!" '_Pikachu! I knew I sensed your electrical field!_' cried the Gible as he warbled attached to the mouse.

"Pika?" '_Who the… wait. Gible? _Our_ Gible?_' Pikachu asked, Gible eyesmiling.

"Gib!' '_Not that many Gibles with a Turtwig, Gligar and Starly, right?_' Gible answered.

"Chim…" '_You need… to learn… to slow down…_' said a familiar Chimchar as he climbed out of the hole, out of breath and exhausted.

"Turt…" '_If I wasn't a Turtwig, I'd never catch up…_' said a Turtwig.

And Pikachu knew them from his journey in Sinnoh.

"Pika-chu?" '_Torterra? Infernape?_' Pikachu asked as Gible let go of him, doing a little dance happily.

"Star." '_And the rest._' Starly said as he hopped out of the hole. "Ly." '_Can't fly in those tunnels._'

"Treecko." '_Can't get into the building unless you do so._' said a Treecko with a twig in his mouth. Pikachu blinked at Snorunt, Gligar, Taillow, Corphish and a Mudkip of all 'mons pushing Torkoal out of the hole, panting.

"Tail." '_Lose. Weight._' Taillow demanded as she regained her breath.

"Tor." '_I'm as light as I can get. It's the shell._' Torkoal replied as he started walking. "Koal." '_Pikachu. Where's Ash?_'

Pikachu scowled at the reminder of who was supposed to be there but wasn't. "Pikapi." '_Ash is in the hospital,_' he said tersely.

"Tree." '_Why?_' Treecko asked.

The answer to that came from Natu, who was nesting on Bulbasaur's head.

"Natu." '_He was shot._' she said.

* * *

Anabel and Misty approached the gym, Anabel having to be dragged along due to VERY bad memories of the place.

"Anabel, you need to pick up the information left there. Your trainer ID, Pokeballs, everything!" Misty said, snarling out WHY they had to go for the umpteenth time.

"I am NOT going back in there without Ash!" Anabel snapped back. Misty would have taken this badly, but given Ash was basically a bane to psychics, human and otherwise, she only got part of the way to the angry tsundere she was known to be in the other timeline.

"_Good thing he's Rotan royalty and polygamy's legal for them: we're never going to be rid of her at this rate_," Astral Misty groused as she 'leaned' on the building, Misty blushing up a storm from that.

Then they heard angry screams of rage and a Draco Meteor of all things shooting out of the roof, heading west-ward.

"Ash doesn't have a Pokemon that knows Draco Meteor." Misty said as both girls watched the orb of death follow the path of the sun.

"_Well, he has a Gible. Cute little thing: I only wish he was a water-type_." Misty's projection said. "_He likes to chomp on things_."

Misty opened the door to find a Mudkip running out, making her more confused. "A Mudkip?" she said before the Mudkip stopped and looked at her, Psyduck taking this chance to do what he did best and come out of his ball at the most inopportune moments.

"Psy?" he asked, not using his telepathy for once.

"Mud?" replied the Mudkip.

"Psy-ay-ay…" replied the duck before yoinking one of Misty's Pokeballs.

"What are you doing, duck?!" Misty snapped before Mudkip smacked the ball, entering the ball willingly before Psyduck turned back to Misty with smiling duck eyes.

"Psyduck!" he said, offering her the ball.

"_Do not question it. Just take the Mudkip_." Astral Misty said, the real one hesitantly taking the ball.

Vun-vun.

"What the hell was-" she started before something shot towards her head.

CHOMP!

"Gible!" cried the offending chomper.

* * *

**Saffron Hospital - 1402 hours local time**

* * *

Ash groaned as someone adjusted his IV.

"He's healing a hell of a lot faster than one would think. It takes months to recover from a gunshot wound." one of the nurses said. "Him? A week and the damaged tissue is already healed."

"It's that Aura thing." the doctor said dismissively. "All Pokemon have it and it contributes to their fast healing rate. And before you ask, no, it doesn't mean he has a Lucario in the family tree or something. It's just a random quirk of genetics, like psychics."

"No need to be an ass." the nurse retorted as she changed his IV bottle. "I didn't even ask about that."

"You were going to: every nurse in the building keeps asking me the same damn question." the doctor said as he ran his hand through his goatee. "I had to get the royal family tree sent to me just to clear it up. And believe me, these people like to make damn sure who's who in the line."

Then the trainer under their care slowly opened his eyes. "Ow." he said for the first time since he was shot, sounding hoarse. "What happened?"

"You were shot during Team Rocket's raid on Silph Co." the doctor answered. "I would ask how you feel, but I already know: I've handled gunshot victims before. As for the Silph thing, your Pokemon were RELENTLESS. The only people that got away were anyone near the rear exits and that Admin. Everyone else…" he threw his hands into the air. "Take your pick. Electrocuted, burned, drowned, you name it, those grunts died from it."

Ash wanted to be shocked and surprised. But Bulbasaur's little declaration before he got shot ruined that. The only surprise was how many actually kicked the bucket. "Are they in trouble?" he asked.

"No. Legally, they were well within their right to do what they did. Self-defense by Pokemon kills more people than you think." the nurse said. "You would be surprised how many idiots pull out a gun on a trainer and get incinerated for it."

Ash groaned. "I hate this timeline." he muttered incoherently. The medical professionals didn't notice what he said.

"You hear that?" the nurse asked as she put the IV bottle away.

"Hear-"

Vun-vun.

"...What was that?" the doctor asked as he looked outside, opening a window.

Something shot past him, flying into the room. And homing in on Ash.

'_This feels_-' Ash thought before he felt it.

CHOMP!

"Gible!" '_ASH! You're ok!_' cried what could only be his Gible as he nommed on his head in worry.

"Gible? What… never mind." Ash said before he rubbed Gible's side. "I know how you dig."

"Gib!" '_I brought friends! They're at the gym!_' Gible cried, the medical people just leaving. Apparently, this was a thing. "Gible…" '_But you can't understand me_.'

"I can understand you just fine, Gible." Ash said, wincing at the IV stuck in his arm. "But I can't go to the gym right now."

Gible's eyes widened. "Gible?" '_You… you can understand?_' he said before eyesmiling. "Gible!" '_Yay! Now we can talk to you properly!_'

Ash chuckled, pulling Gible off his head and putting him on his lap. "But how'd you get here?" he asked.

"Gible, Gib-Gible." '_I dug! Got Turtwig, Chimchar and Buzel! Forgot about Gligar, but he's almost never around anyways. We kinda forget he exists sometimes._' Gible answered. "Gible-Gib." '_Got to Hoenn. Picked those guys up, too._'

"Treecko and the others are at the gym, too?" Ash asked. "That's… great!" For once, things were looking up! He just needed to get the Tauros and he'd get everyone in Kanto back together!

…Dawn was going to miss Aipom, though. Where WAS she, anyways? He caught her near Viridian City and she wasn't near there. That was one of the reasons he went into Viridian Forest without Misty three or four weeks ago. Find Pidgeotto, Caterpie and maybe Aipom.

…He wasn't counting the hospital time yet.

"So, just missing Aipom and the Tauros." he said as he carefully pulled the IV out, wincing as he did before getting those pads off his chest.

About two minutes later, the doctors rushed in panicking. Apparently, the machines those things were wired up to said he was flatlining.

* * *

**En route to Saffron Gym - 1518 Hours local time**

* * *

No one questioned why Gible was attached to Ash's head and his own hat was on Gible's fin as he walked down the streets.

Gible only let go of him when he got dressed. As soon as Ash was in his outfit, Gible latched on with a mighty chomp and was unwilling to let go.

"Gible." '_I like your outfit. Better than the one you wore in Sinnoh._' Gible said, warbling on his head.

"Well, Sinnoh was colder than Kanto. Kanto's pretty warm, so I didn't bother with anything but this last time." Ash said, Gible eyesmiling.

"Gible!" '_Keep it!_' Gible said.

"Not going to be worthwhile in Sinnoh." his trainer countered. "I mean, I like the outfit, but it's cold in Sinnoh." He then looked up at the land shark. "How come you weren't cold in Sinnoh? You're a dragon."

"Gible." '_I slept in warm caves until I met you! Then you caught me._' Gible answered as they got to the gym, where Misty and Anabel were waiting, Misty petting a Mudkip and talking to Anabel.

"Hey, guys." he said, breaking their concentration, Anabel getting to her feet first and latching onto him with a death grip.

"Thank Arceus you're here!" she cried, not noticing what was on his head.

"Giiiiiiiiiiiiibbbbbbbbbbbbbb…" Gible warbled warningly, glaring at Anabel, who finally noticed the Gible.

"I think you guys met Gible," Ash said as the land shark continued to glare at Anabel.

"Yeah, we did." Misty said, holding her Mudkip in her arms. "Latched onto my head, then homed in on the hospital. He's yours?"

"Yup." Ash said, Gible eyesmiling and warbling. "Caught him in Sinnoh about four years from now. First thing he did was chomp on my head."

"Well, everyone else is in the gym. I DID bring your stuff here." Misty said, somewhat proudly, which confused Ash for a second. "Your bag is HEAVY. How do you carry that thing around?"

That explained everything. "It's not that heavy." he said.

"Ash, Misty was sagging the entire time and had to have my Abra help her." Anabel said, Gible resuming his glare. "He weighed it. It's almost 90 pounds. That's half her weight."

"Yeah-HEY!" Misty snapped.

"Yeah, I'm going to see my Sinnoh and Hoenn teams." Ash said quickly, getting away from the catfight in the brewing.

* * *

"Treecko." '_Well, you weren't joking.'_ Treecko said as Ash actually had a conversation with Gligar on how he seemed to isolate himself from the rest of the family and how that was a bad thing, with the conversation being a _conversation _instead of Ash guessing what Gligar said and replying.

"Pika." '_I hope this is the last time we have to do this talk._' Pikachu said before glancing at Treecko. "Pika-ka?" '_And why aren't you running?_'

"Tree." '_Charmeleon is only intimidating when he's actually _trying _to kill you. He's not a Charizard yet._' Treecko replied, referring to the fact almost everyone was fleeing from Charmeleon and his remastered flamethrower. The only ones not were flying-types and they had… other fears.

Tailow had learned her electrical immunity did not carry over into this timeline, for example. Pikachu had forced her to evade often. It had results, though. Her reaction time was better.

That being said…

"Pikachu." 'G_et back to work._' he said.

"Tree-cko." '_Fucking make me._' the gecko replied as Pikachu began sparking. The grass-type ran towards Phanpy, latching on as Pikachu unleashed a Thunderbolt at him. Grounding did not help him.

* * *

**RMS _Aquitania_ \- 200 nautical miles from Unova - 1701 hours local time - Day 34**

* * *

"Grub." '_Stupid bird. WAKE UP!_' said Grubbin as he prodded Rowlet, who woke up sleepily.

"Rowl?" '_What time is it?_' has asked with a tilted head.

"Grub!" '_Time to feed me, you Arceus-forsaken grass-type! It's been two days!_' the Grubbin yelled.

Rowlet yawned before taking to the air. "Rowlet!" '_Sorry. Having a sun-high. I'll be back!_' he cried before Grubbin hid in the shadows again.

Rowlet did not mean to sleep so much. He was a grass-type: the sun was his food, mixed with the occasional bit of water. But regardless, he needed to get the food Grubbin needed. Fortunately, Rockruff, Meowth and Litten were handling that.

He flew to the wheelhouse, where a covered basket was waiting with an annoyed Litten guarding it. "Lit." '_You're late._' he snapped.

"Rowl?" '_Sorry. You know me._' Rowlet said as he landed.

"Litten." '_Well, try staying awake. The crew's onto us and they're actively hunting us._' Litten snapped. "Ten." '_We can't afford to stay up here for too long._'

"Let." '_Sorry. Didn't know. I'll try to stay up._' Rowlet said as he grabbed onto the basket with his talons.

"Litt." '_You better. I'm heading back to the cargo hold. Just wish we didn't leave Stoutland behind_.' Litten said, sounding sad at the last few words.

"Rowlet." '_You know he wouldn't've made it to Kanto._' the bird replied as Litten got up.

"Litten, ten." '_I know that. But knowing and wanting are two different things. I wanted him to come. I know he couldn't._' the fire cat said. "It." '_At least he's in a good home._' With that, he hopped to the deck and quickly made his way to the decks below, just as the ship suddenly began turning.

"Rowlet?!" '_What the hell?_' he said as the ship turned hard to port and increased speed.

* * *

**RMS **_**Germanic**_ **\- 9 hours earlier**

* * *

Fletchling could not sleep. Nor could Froakie.

Something was coming.

See, being one of Ash's Pokemon put them in tune with their surroundings and the environment itself. They could sense danger coming, to protect their trainer when he was too blind to see the danger.

Froakie was more on edge then anyone and Fletchling was a light sleeper anyways.

"Froak." '_Something is coming. It's fast and coming from the south._' Froakie said, his senses, while not honed to the point of a Greninja, were screaming to prepare for battle.

"Fletch." '_You wake everyone. I'll check what it is._' Fletching said, taking off through the same window that Serena fired that bolt out of yesterday.

Her eyes were not completely focused, not to the point of a Talonflame, but she could see something. Something… blurry.

'_What is blurry? I know Pikachu and the others mentioned something once? A Lati? No, Latis aren't that…_' Fletchling nearly stopped flapping her wings as she realized what it was. '_FUCK._'

She then flew back in just as energy bolts slammed into the liner's reinforced hull, startling all of Ash's team awake as well as Sylveon.

"GOO?!" 'WHAT THE FUCK?!' Goomy yelled as the ship rocked side to side like a sailboat in a storm.

"Fletch!" '_Wake up! We're in trouble!_' Fletchling cried.

"Noi?" '_What's going on?_' Noibat asked as he sat up.

"Froakie-fro." '_An old nemesis returns._' Froakie said as the source of the attack appeared: a flying blocky warship. One that they had not fought.

But one Pikachu and the Sinnoh crew had fought too many times for comfort. They were going to run into the bitch eventually.

But none of them thought they were ready for Hunter J.

* * *

**J's ship - same time**

* * *

The Pokemon Hunter that simply referred to herself as J scowled as she looked at the RMS _Germanic_ from the bridge of her modified Unovan _Defiance_-Class aerial cruiser. The last thing she wanted to do was sink the damn thing by accident: being wanted by the Leagues for Pokemon poaching was one thing. Sinking an ocean liner filled with people would have her hunted by _governments_.

_Poaching_ was one thing. _Terrorism_ was another.

One pissed off the Leagues with their holier-than-thou bullshit. The other pissed off governments and eventually got you killed. And while she might sell Pokemon to less-than-savory people in the governments of many regions, even they would gladly cut ties with her if that ship sank.

"Damage report." she snapped.

"Minor hull damage in frames 15 and 18, no buckling of structural plating. Damage to her screw shafts." one of her operators reported. "She'll stay afloat, but she's not going anywhere for a long time."

"As long as it doesn't sink. Prepare boarding parties. And make damn sure they don't pack explosives." J ordered as she went to the door leading out of the bridge. "The last thing we need is to have the Unovan government pissed off at us for sinking Pernon's fucking ship." Damaging it, they'd be annoyed. Sinking it would cost them money they wouldn't be paying her.

"Yes, ma'am." said one of the officers as he relayed the orders.

* * *

**RMS **_**Germanic**_ **\- Pernon's Reactor Office - 30 seconds after the initial attack**

* * *

"Oh, great," Kyril groaned as he headed over to the mounting zone for his armor, getting into the armor's primary undersuit. "What've we got, Rin?"

"One contact, bearing 179," Rin replied. "It's an airship. _Defiance_-Class, from the look of things. And only one person has the technical know-how on her payroll to use one of those outside the Unovan military these days."

Kyril scowled, even as he finished donning the undersuit and stepped into the rig that would fit the armor to him. "Yeah. Hunter J," he said, spitting out the name. "She's a bloody menace. As bad as the Teams, even if she isn't on the payroll of any one Team. Unfortunately for her, she picked the wrong ship to raid."

He was right, of course, but not for the reason he surmised. He thought that he was going to put the Fear of Marauder into the bitch, maybe put a few holes in her ship thanks to his armor's heavier weapons.

But he wasn't the only one getting ready to fight.

* * *

"Hawlucha." '_There is no way in hell we are going to fight her and win._' the luchador bird said as they watched the ship begin dropping ropes to allow the crew to board the _Germanic_.

"Goo." '_Not directly. But J doesn't play directly. Pikachu said she likes to be sneaky so she doesn't hurt her targets_'. Goomy said, remembering what Pikachu said about the bitch. "Goomy." '_Let's use her greed against her._'

"Fenn." '_I have no idea what you're on about, but I want in._' Fennekin said as Grace and Serena were forced to some safe area in the ship, Serena spitting curses like a sailor.

"Noi!" '_No way in hell: we know the risks, you don't!_' Noibat said, looking at the fox Pokemon.

"Pancham." '_They want Pokemon. We make them run, they don't come back._' Pancham said, pounding his paws together.

"..Goo." '_They're not wrong. And we have two of them that bitch might want._' Goomy said, his antennae waggling like eyebrows.

"Froak." '_Absolutely not._' Froakie said, knowing instantly. "Kie." '_I am the better choice._'

"Goo." '_I'm not going alone._' Goomy said, looking at Sylveon, who nodded in understanding. They were the bait.

"Fletch?!" '_Are you two insane? There's no way either of you can fight her Salamence, type advantage or not!_' Fletchling cried.

"Fennekin." '_Lure her into the ship. I'll make sure she can't see._' Fenniken said.

"Noi…" '_We're doomed._' Noibat said.

* * *

J's boots clacked on the decking as she landed, her petrification gun armed and ready as she prepared to find something worth selling.

The ship was outbound from Kalos, so anything like a Goomy would sell well. Goodra were popular outside Kalos, but too cost prohibitive. Goomy were easier to get.

Her glasses found nothing on thermals until she arrived at the aft expansion joint, where she heard a cry.

"Goomy?"

She snapped to the right, firing on the target in question, which was a Goomy… riding a Slyveon? …that dodged her shot.

'_Two for one_. ' she thought, smacking her lips. The fairy eeveelutions were always popular.

She followed, the Eeveelution and the Soft Tissue Pokemon riding it just barely staying out of her line of fire as they ventured into B-Deck.

A voice in the back of her head screamed this was a trap. Her conscious and exceedingly greedy part of her scoffed. A trap? What could a happy-go-lucky fairy-type and the weakest dragon do to her?

She followed them until they reached a straight corridor, but they weren't there. "Hiding will not help you…" she said as she put on her glasses, thermal imaging being displayed. There was one problem as she entered the room, which was the old Second Class dining room: everything was on fire and the heat was fucking with her IR.

'_Well, I was asking for it_.' J thought as she prepared to leave, only for a water pulse to slam into the cannon, cracking it before a Froakie stabbed it with a water knife, destroying vital internal parts.

She reached for her Salamance's Pokeball, no longer giving a shit about damage to the ship before a Fennekin bit the hand hard enough to make it bleed and break bone, making her drop the ball in its' inactive state as she screamed.

Then the Goomy jumped on her and fired a thunderbolt into her arm cannon before he charged again and fired it into her imaging glasses, destroying them and blinding her long enough for a Hawlucha to High Jump Kick her in the side, which broke several ribs.

She opened her eyes long enough to find a FUCKING FLETCHLING flying at her, the clawed feet cutting into her face before the Sylveon tripped her, forcing her to fall onto the broken ribs, which only made it worse with a Pancham pounding her leg.

_**They knew how she worked**_. They knew how she worked and used her greed against her. She knew it was too easy, but the money was too hard to ignore. And they fucked her with it.

And then she heard the sound of heavy footsteps. Heavy _mechanized_ footsteps.

She'd heard the stories. The armored vigilante who ravaged Teams across the world, often causing collateral damage because of course Teams tried to hide in cities. It was rumored he'd had a connection to Pernon Industries.

And when she saw the massive armored figure of Marauder tromp into the room, and then deploy fire suppression equipment, she somehow knew those rumors were true.

And for the first time since her early days as a Pokemon Hunter… J felt fear.

"Huh," said the armored warrior, voice scrambled as always as he hefted an assault rifle. "Was not expecting Hunter J to be taken down by Pokemon. Mostly unevolved Pokemon no less."

J quickly assessed the situation. She was too wounded to fight and the Goomy had her Salamence's Pokeball in his mouth. No enhanced vision visor, no petrification weapon.

There was only one option. Run. The Pokemon were distracted and the _Germanic's _layout was almost the same as the _Olympic_, so she could get the fuck out of there.

She quickly got to her feet, scrambling for the door on the other end of the dining room. From there, she would get to the aft grand staircase and get to the boat deck.

That didn't mean getting out of the room would be EASY.

As soon as he had a clear angle that didn't risk the Pokemon, Marauder let loose with his assault rifle, filling the room with lead spraying in her direction. She barely managed to get out of there in one piece, though she was still clipped in her left leg, right arm, and left flank. And that wasn't counting all the Pokemon attacks being leveled her way - mostly ranged attacks.

An ember hit her back, a thunderbolt grazed the side of her face. They did not stop her.

She reached the staircase, limping up before the massive 12.7mm rounds slammed into the stairs and the panelling, wood splintering into her face and chest.

She was never going to live this down.

* * *

"_And that's 200 year old artwork you just ruined,_" Rin said over the comm. "_There's no puttying over _those_ bullet holes._"

Kyril sighed. "Maybe," he admitted. "Still, didn't want to just let her get away without at least an attempt at stopping her. And the Pokemon did a fair bit of damage, too, setting things on fire to set what had to be a trap."

"_The dining room wasn't important: any idiot can scrape the paint off the walls and recarpet! Besides, they nearly had her until you showed up._" Rin said. "_X-rays show they broke ribs and fractured her left tibia. If you hadn't shown up, they'd've finished the job._"

And he wasn't hitting her. He'd have to recalibrate the armor later: weeks of inactivity would do that.

"Right," he said with another sigh. "Well, on that note, anything you can tell me on those Pokemon?"

"_Only that they're the ones that came on the ship with Duchess Gabena and her daughter Serena,_" Rin informed. "_The Fennekin, Sylveon, and Pancham are registered to her, but the others don't have any Trainer ID registries at all._"

"Wild? What are wild-" he started before a thunderbolt hit his suit.

"_Apparently they took offense_." Rin said dryly. "T_hat cruiser is getting ready to get the hell out of here. If you want to make her humiliation complete, I would suggest getting to the boat deck ASAP_."

* * *

J fumbled for the ascension line as blood dripped into her eyes. She got screwed and she knew it.

If she saw them ever again, she wouldn't bother being nice about it. Her old battle rifle would be a good choice for them.

Loud cracks sounded behind her as that armored asshole shot at her blindly, but she managed to get the damn thing to pull her up into the ship.

Then he just started firing rockets at her, slamming into her ship, which wasn't designed to be hit with rockets.

_Defiance_-Class cruisers were meant to hit hard and get the hell out, not hang in a firefight for the long haul. It's why so many of them remained: the Unovans built tens of thousands of them.

J knew this was going to be costly. VERY costly.

But as the line swayed, the ship began moving quickly away, the stench of smoke in the air, she knew she would survive this.

That was the important thing at the moment. Getting her money back? Well, she did have a few other clients.

* * *

Kyril stopped firing as the ship exited the range of his suit's weapons, trailing smoke.

"_Well, she's going to be living on the edge for a while. If you didn't decide to be dramatic…_" Rin said over the comm, trailing off.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in, right don't you." he groused before getting serious. "How bad?"

"_Well, the port prop shaft is basically gone and there's warping in several structural ribs. Survivable, but only if we put the ship out of service for a few months._" Rin said as the damage control crews fed the information to the captain - and unwittingly, her. "_We're stuck on the inner prop, so we need to get towed back._" She paused, groaning in annoyance. "_Great._"

"What?" he asked as he made his way to Funnel 3, which had a hidden passage to store the suit.

"_The radio's out, same with the radar. We are blind, deaf and half-crippled._" Rin replied. "_Fucking GREAT! If the bitch decides to come back after putting out those fires you started, we're not going to see her until she's on top of us._"

"Doubt it. With that many holes, her stealth tech is useless." Kyril said as he got the suit stowed away, exiting it with difficulty. "Just get the radio fixed and contact the nearest ship."

"_Which is the _Aquitania_. She departed Alola sometime ago and should be in radio range… once we get it fixed._" Rin said before closing the link.

* * *

Froakie was glad to get out of the fires as the sprinkler system kicked in, putting out the flames.

"Gooooooooooooo…" '_Sweet water…_' said Goomy, more happy to be showered in water, soaking it into his blobby body.

"Fletch!" '_We almost had her!_' Fletchling chirped angrily. "Ling-ling!" '_If that armored asshole didn't-_'

"Froak." '_Death or retreat, it does not matter. Victory is ours,_' Froakie interrupted, ending the discussion. "Froakie." '_Now we have a story to tell once we are reunited with Ash._'

And that was more important than anything. They could brag all they wanted once they got home.

"Goooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyy…" Goomy went, snoring. He was on a water-high.

"Haw." '_I'll need a hand with him,_' Hawlucha half-asked. Water-logged Goomys were not a fun thing to deal with.

* * *

**Saffron Gym - 0645 hours local time - Day 35**

* * *

Pikachu was slowly killing them. That was the opinion of all involved.

The slow death had results, as Starly could attest to.

"Staravvvvvviiaaaa…" '_Oooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwww…_' said the newly evolved Pokemon as he laid on the ground, sparking.

"Pika!" '_You're all improving! I can hold a thunderbolt longer, run longer and hold an Iron Tail longer now. We're getting back to normal,_' Pikachu said as he adjusted his cap with his tiny paws.

"Char!" '_More! MORE!_' Charmeleon screamed, hungry for more punishment as long as it led to him being a Charizard once more.

"Gible?" '_Was he always this nuts?_' Gible asked, thankfully immune to being shocked into unconsciousness. That didn't stop Pikachu from trying.

"Pika?" '_That Draco Meteor of yours needs work. Dawn's Piplup hasn't hatched: stop aiming for him,_' Pikachu said, Gible's maw opening for a Gible laugh.

"Gib-Gib-Gib-Gible!" '_I wasn't aiming for Piplup!_' he said, confusing all present.

"Noct?" '_Then who in the bloody hell WERE you aiming at?_' Noctowl asked.

* * *

**Viridian City Gym - 1402 Hours Local Time - Day 34**

* * *

Giovanni looked up to see an orange ball descending towards him. He would have questioned WHY a Draco Meteor of all things was heading for him, but instead, he ducked inside.

Instead, the ball followed him in and exploded on his back, sending him flying into a wall.

* * *

**Present Time - Saffron Gym**

* * *

"Gible!" '_Whoever's the Team Rocket Boss!_' Gible said with a cheer.

Squirtle could not help himself. He laughed. He laughed hard.

All of them knew Giovanni was the Rocket Boss. Everyone except Gible, seemingly. And yet Gible fired at the son of a bitch and, knowing Gible, hit him.

He was followed by everyone there, save Charmeleon, who finally fell on his face, exhausted.

"Char…" '_More… Must… be… Charizard…_' he moaned.

"Pika." '_Bulbasaur better not have the same problems with Treecko,_' Pikachu muttered.

* * *

**Pallet Town - Oak Ranch - 1604 Hours local time**

* * *

"Tran...quill…" '_About...damn...time…_' the newly evolved Wild Pigeon Pokémon moaned as she was dragged to a 'safe recovery zone'. Translation: the hell away from the Snorlax that just Mega Punched her in the beak.

"Snor!" '_Next! Gotta get ready!_' Snorlax cried out, noticeably more… active then usual.

Ash getting shot changed him from 'lazy as sin' to 'angry and motivated'. He was turning into the ultimate punching bag that occasionally punched back.

"La." '_Try not to hit ME, damn it,_' said a surprise to all once he was let out from his ball: Ash's Lapras.

Apparently, the timeline changed a LOT: his herd was no longer wild, but safely cared for at the Kanto Safari Zone for the sake of getting their species back to sustainable numbers. He was at Silph Co to test a new treatment when the Rockets attacked and was technically one of the company's Pokemon.

He didn't know he was gifted back to Ash until he was let out in Pallet and… well, flying-types were learning that his aim with Ice Beam was deadly. He was still in the large pond made for water-types like himself and everything else was giving him a WIDE berth for the same reasons Snorlax was more up and about.

Five years apart changed nothing: Ash was his trainer and NO ONE hurt his trainer.

"Pidgeot!" '_Speak for yourself!_' cried the largest avian there. At long last, Pidgeotto had evolved and was slowly getting herself back into fighting shape as she was prior to the resetting of the timeline. After, of course, Cyndaquil thawed the ice on her wings caused by Snorunt.

After she recovered from Phanpy Mud Slapping her a few times. In general, ALL of them were going through hellish training due to recent events.

"Bayleef." '_Progress is progress,_' said the recently evolved Bayleef as she used Aromatherapy on herself and others to patch up the others while they were also given Oran and Sitrus berries by the Pidgeys of Pidgeot's flock to recover their strength.

"Bulba." '_That's enough. Tomorrow, we're working on conditioning. This is supposed to be the LESS extreme place,_' Bulbasaur said as he hauled a blue-furred form towards the group, which unfurled to reveal a familiar face.

"Qui…" '_Why does mud hurt so much…_' asked the now-evolved Quilava as she laid face down in the dirt.

* * *

**Team Rocket Headquarters - Kanto/Johto border - 2315 Hours Local Time - Day 35**

* * *

Darkness fell on the imposing Rocket base, boldly baring the Rocket 'R' on the entrance.

Inside, Giovanni had called the only people he could trust outside of his now-dead wife (who was Ariana's sister) Matori and his Persian.

It was a sad day when the most trustworthy people he had were those idiots, Jessie, James and their Meowth.

"It has come to my attention that you are the only operatives I can actually trust to do your damned jobs and not require handholding," Giovanni said as he downed a glass of cheap Orrean bourbon. "It is a sad day for Team Rocket that it has come to this."

"Thank you, Boss!" all three said, not noticing the last sentence.

"I'm not finished. I'm also changing your assignment." Giovanni said as he poured another glass, which clearly unnerved the three. To their knowledge, he used those things as set pieces, never drinking from them.

"Sir?" James asked, Giovanni putting the cap back on the bottle as he did.

"What?" Givanni demanded as he put the bottle down.

"Why are you changing our assignment?" Jessie asked, taking over for her less assertive partner. "We're tailing the boy as you asked-" their commander raised his hand to silence her, which did its' job.

"The boy is Ash Ketchum," he said. "You may not be aware of this, but he is the son of Delia Ketchum."

THAT got a reaction out of them, as they knew who Delia was: a champion-grade Elite Four member.

"So, we were tailin' him because you didn't want the Ketchum lady against the Team?" Meowth asked, Giovanni continually surprised the cat learned to talk. Regardless, he was not wrong.

"Delia's maiden name is Sakai," the Boss said. And that was enough to floor them. "The boy is my nephew. I wanted him protected not just to keep Delia from going against the Team, but because he is family. Now thanks to the stupidity of one of Ariana's riflemen, Delia has given me two weeks to settle affairs and return to the Gym… and leave the Team."

That got them out of their stupor. "You can't leave the Team!" James cried.

"That's right!" Meowth said. "The team needs the Boss!"

Giovanni almost smiled at their loyalty.

Almost.

"My sister is the most dangerous Pokemon trainer on the planet outside of Professor Samuel Oak and the Champions of Kanto, Sinnoh and Unova." he said, sounding pained at that admission. "Her Pokemon are kept away from the Oak Ranch for the safety of everything else in a 50 kilometer radius. The Team is doomed. But it will endure in a way." With that, he sat back in his chair, fixing them with a stare. "Shadow Ash. You are his protectors in the shadows. Anyone tries to hurt him, Team Rocket remnants, government agents or anything else, you take them out. If Ash Ketchum dies, the _Team_ dies. Understood?"

All three stood straight and gave him what could only be called a Wobbuffet salute. "Yes, Boss!" they said as one.

The Boss got up, his Persian following suit. "Come with me." he ordered, the three following him out of the room.

* * *

"The Boss has a sister. And the twerp we've been tailing is his nephew?" Jessie asked, still disbelieving.

"Well, they do have the same hair." James said, finger on his chin in pondering. "If we didn't know the Boss had a kid, we'd think it was his son."

"Scary." Meowth said as they entered a massive vault filled with Pokeballs.

"Normally, you would be restricted to only those you could catch, but your assignment demands firepower." Giovanni said to them. "One of you knows some of the Pokemon you will be given."

James perked up at that as they came to a tray with clear labels on the indents holding them in place.

"Weepinbell. Chimecho. Mime Jr. Carnivine. Inkay," he named one by one. "I caught these Pokemon and brought them here."

"You're getting them back, along with a few others," Giovanni said as James picked up a particularly scuffed Pokeball and released an old friend.

"Growl!" barked a Growlithe before it happily tackled James.

Jessie huffed before picking up a Luxury ball and a modified Great Ball. "Great." she muttered before Giovanni saw the Luxury Ball and had the look of fear on his face.

"Do not-" he said before Jessie did the stupid and released it.

The form was familiar. They'd seen one with the twerp.

"Mi," said the Mimikyu, making Meowth jump in shock as he hid behind James.

"Holy crap! You kiss your mother with that meowth?!" Meowth said, not resisting the urge for a pun.

"Aw, he's cute!" Jessie said, picking up the Disguise Pokemon. "Kinda like the one with the twerp."

The Mimikyu seemingly stared at her. Then jumped on her shoulder. "Mimikyu," he said.

"Keep that thing away from my nephew's starter." Giovanni ordered. "He has killed Pikachu in the past."

The ghost perked up at the mention of Pikachu… but not for the right reasons.

"Mi?!" he said.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Asmodai?!" Meowth screamed at the Mimikyu in horror.

"…Keep the damn thing under control. You have two poison-types." Giovanni said before noticing the Seviper and the Marianie Pokeballs. "…Four. If that Pikachu dies-"

"WE die. We understand." James said as Jessie returned Mimikyu to his ball… and the great ball opened.

"WOOOOOOOOOOBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBUUUUUUUUFFFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!" cried the Patient Pokémon as he materialized and made his salute.

Giovanni groaned in annoyance. "Get the fuck out of here before I shoot that damn thing." he said, leaving to avoid dealing with the damn psychic-type.

* * *

**Saffron Gym - 0817 hours local time - Day 36**

* * *

Ash was still in no shape to go anywhere (enforced bed care by his two 'nurses') so Pikachu continued tortur-er, training his teammates.

"Turt." '_This is not going to work._' Turtwig said as he looked at the Pokedex using a training program to show a Torterra using Energy Ball, among other attacks. "Wig." '_I know Ash had ideas-_'

"Pika." '_Ideas he shared with me. I might not be our overly-risk-taking trainer, but I know what to do._' Pikachu said. "Pikapi." '_Ash can refine it once you show him_.'

"Turtwig-tur." '_I don't want to evolve. I'm willing to fight, but I'm not willing to lose my mobility again! That sucked!_' Turtwig retorted. Pikachu could understand that.

"Pika." '_Good point. That being said, Trick Room._' Pikachu said.

"Turtwig!" '_I can't learn Trick Room! My SPECIES can't learn-_' Turtwig yelled before-

"Natu." '_I can_.' said the Natu that just appeared on his back.

"...Turtwig?" '_Since when did Ash have a Natu?_' Turtwig asked.

"Natu." '_Since Arceus spat out your ancestor._' she said, unblinkingly. "Natu-Natu." '_But you have problems moving when fully evolved. I resolve those problems._'

"Tur-." '_You have no idea-_'

"Natu." '_You're from the future. We know. I asked Ash about it and I skimmed his mind to understand. Good thing it was on the surface, or I'd end up like that Hypno._' Natu interrupted, starting to make a nest on his back.

"Pika." '_He snapped his neck. Apparently, he saw something no one should see._' Pikachu deadpanned.

"Gible!" '_Hi!_' CHOMP!

Natu was suddenly engulfed by the maw of the land shark, who warbled happily.

"Natu." '_Let. Go. Of. Me._' she said, her eye twitching.

"Gib!" '_Friend!_' said Gible as he fell off Turtwig, Natu's twitching reaching crisis point.

"Pika?" '_So… energy ball and the like?_' the starter suggested.

"Turt…" '_Sure… anything to avoid-_'

"NATU!" cried Natu as she used Psychic in an explosive way.

Needless to say, the psychic explosion did not kill Gible, but it left him dazed and confused for a while.

* * *

(Login Permissions granted)

Entry 24: Hunter J

Little is known about Hunter J, but biometric data seems to indicate she is in fact Jeanette Lilianna Lawrance, a native of the Alola region that disappeared in AS37 at the age of 8. When J first appeared in AS50, she was a rookie Pokemon hunter, bringing in uncommon Pokemon for government officials to use as their childrens' starters, but that changed when she stole experimental technology from the Unovan and Kalosian militaries, resulting in her signature 'petrification cannon' and image enhancement glasses.

Eventually, in AS52, she acquired the Unovan _Defiance_-Class aerial cruiser _Pride of Opelucid_, modifying it with Kalosian stealth technology and expanding her operations, often coming into conflict with the League and to a lesser degree the Teams of the regions.

She has no known relatives, but if she is Jeanette Lawrance, she may have a sibling in Gelardan Lawrence III, who, similarly, uses an older but extensively modified and upgraded Kalosian _Lumiose_-Class aerial battlecruiser that he renamed the _Hikōkyū_.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: I apologize if the last two chapters were nothing but filler. Honestly, nothing really happened. Remove 80% of the unnecessary filler, put in 15% more, it seems.**

**117Jorn: Hey man, Filler exists for a reason.**

**Ron the True Fan: Not if you don't need it. (Natu hops from Ron's head to Jorn's and nests VERY happily)**

**117Jorn: Ah, there you are little guy… *notices the bumps on Ron's head* ...the hell happened to you while I was gone?**

**Ron the True Fan: Natu was unhappy with you not being here and blamed me for it. That and how long it took to get the birds in the fic. (Natu 'Natus')**

**117Jorn: Fair enough. Well hopefully I'll be able to contribute more going forward.**

**Natu: Natu!**

**Ja Ne!**


	18. Chapter 17: The Seeds of Revenge

**Ron the True Fan: At least the bird isn't trying to bore into my skull. I thought you were a parrot, not a woodpecker! (Natu nests smugly on Jorn's head)**

**117Jorn: *Pets Natu* Natu can be whatever he wants to be - because he is the best bird.**

**Ron the True Fan: (CHOMP! Warble) And Gible soothes all hurts. (Land shark eyesmiles)**

**Takeshi Yamato: Just remember what's waiting in the wings if you get off track. Or rather, **_**who**_**.**

**Thor: This is an entertaining arrangement, mortal.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Thank you.**

* * *

**Saffron City Gym - 0719 hours local time - Day 37 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

"Really. I'm fine." Ash said, weighed down with five blankets and a Gible laying on his feet, attempting to convince his 'nurses' to let him go.

It was VERY easy to picture Misty and Anabel in skimpy nurse outfits and the more perverted part of his mind ran with it. Then Ash promptly took a mental hammer to it with extreme prejudice. He was NOT allowed.

Besides, he wasn't into that anyway. (further angry mental hammering followed that thought)

Anabel apparently noticed those images (she was a telepath, after all) and blushed at it, but made no other comment.

Misty, on the other hand, did notice Anabel's face turning from 'indoors too much' pale to 'spicy' red.

"He just pictured us in nurse outfits, didn't he?" Misty asked, almost back to how Ash preferred her: outgoing, loud and usually angry. Not that he was going to tell HER that.

"For a second. Then I saw hammers slamming into it." Anabel admitted before looking at Misty. "Is that normal?"

"Apparently, he's taken an oath of celibacy and he takes his promises seriously." Misty said, Ash cursing Mewtwo and whoever created him to an eternity as Giratina's playthings for making him 'receptive' to psychic imprints. Hopefully his limited experience with Anabel would prevent that from happening to her, too.

"Seriously." Ash said, still annoyed at the fact they were handling him like glass. It did NOT help that they were attractive and made damn sure he knew it, too! "I am fine."

"We'll let the doctors make that call." Misty said, smirking. "So...what did they look like?"

Ash screamed internally at this, his legs moving and shifting Gible out of his sleep.

The land shark awoke seconds later. And as one might guess, an awakened Gible does three things.

One is find out where he is and the other being whether or not he's among friends.

The last one was simple. CHOMP!

"Gible!" '_Not a dream_!' cried the land shark as he warbled on his trainer's head.

'_At least I have most of my Pokemon back_.' he thought, trying to find a silver lining that wasn't related to the women in his life.

* * *

**Pallet Town - 1305 hours local time**

* * *

Click! Went the slide of an old, rebuilt and reforged 45 .ACP handgun as its' user let go of it, allowing it to snap back in place before it was put in its' holster.

Delia Ketchum had given Giovanni two weeks. That only meant he had two weeks to effectively leave the Team, not how long he had until she was going on her rampage. Most of that time was spent gathering her old equipment together.

It was also spent getting the rest of her kids to the safest place she knew: Indigo Plateau, in the care of 'Aunt' Lorelei. No one, not even the most insane Rocket Admins, was stupid enough to attack the headquarters of the League and effectively the government of Kanto.

That was suicide.

"Mom, we don't want to go!" half-whined Yellow, who wanted to spend more time with her brother in Saffron with her 'niece'. Delia REALLY wanted to keep them away from her. Now the woman was acting like a teenager and was getting...curious. Not someone she wanted around her children.

"Mom, we'll be fine here. Belladonna is still in town-" Red started, but Delia silenced him with a look.

"Belladonna practically lives at the lab now. She has for the last few years, since… _that_ happened." Delia said, knowing her eldest child had refused to come home after that day. No one blamed her.

A totem pole-like bird stood, waiting patiently. "Xatu." it said, just to make its' presence known, making Yellow jump.

"AH! Where did Xatu come from?!" she yelped, the bird's eyes not moving, but you could tell there was smug amusement in them, like saying 'still got it'.

"He's going to take you to Aunt Lorelei. That's the safest place for you while I'm out." Delia explained, xatu turning back into a statue bird. "Try not to cause trouble while you're there, please."

"You tell us that every time we go there." Yellow muttered before Xatu suddenly appeared beside her and gave her a hug with a cry of "Xatu.", spooking the young girl once more.

"Have fun!" Delia said cheerfully as Xatu teleported her children away. With that, she dropped the cheerful mother persona. And spun around, gun in hand towards an intruder in her home.

Who turned out to be her eldest child, looking shocked and somewhat scared with her hands in the air. "I… surrender?" Belladonna Ketchum said half-questioningly before Delia lowered her weapon.

"You haven't been here in nearly six years." Delia said, not bothering to say hello. "What brings you back here, Bell?"

Belladonna dropped her arms to her sides before gesturing to the fact her mother was armed with a rifle, a handgun and enough supplies to wage war on a small region in her oversized bag on her back. "The armory on your back, maybe? The fact you sent Red and Yellow to Aunt Lorelei?" she started. "The fact you've been getting calls from Giovanni, the same Giovanni you yelled at me for facing as my last gym battle three years ago, for the last month?"

Delia wasn't surprised Belladonna had tapped her phone line: doing that was a habit of hers when she was younger, bored and the Zubat that would become her starter was busy running from a more playful Ash. Sweet fucking Arceus, she missed those days…

"I've been getting calls from Giovanni asking me not to make any presumptions about Ash's safety." Delia said as she opened a cabinet with six worn, steel-colored Pokeballs, the red and white paint long since gone. Oak preferred his ancient ratchet-catch Pokeballs. Delia upgraded to the new Silph models a long time ago and wore them to the steel they were made from.

A nervous tick of hers.

"You're getting your team from the ranch?!" Belladonna yelled, her eyes widening to horrifying degrees. "You know we keep them FAR away from everything else for a reason, right?!"

"Yes, I do. But your uncle did something stupid." Delia said, getting a blank look from her daughter.

"What." she stated.

"You never noticed the resemblance? It's mostly in the eyes." Delia said as she contracted the balls and placed them onto a new belt, the old one long since gone after… the incident.

"Uncle? You don't… have… You told us we don't have any aunts or uncles!" Belladonna said indignantly.

"I lied." Delia said shrugging, her daughter getting more and more pissed off. " Didn't want you getting involved in his affairs. But Giovanni's goons tried to kill Ash. Now he pays the price."

Belladonna finally got the picture. "GIOVANNI? HE'S your brother?" she snapped. "That explains that. But-"

"He runs Team Rocket. I wanted nothing to do with it and leveled his operations when they objected." Delia said as she took out Mimey's Pokeball. "Stay at the lab. This is going to get violent." With that, she went to the door, only to have an Arbok block her way.

Delia closed her eyes. "Sweety, tell your snake to get out of my way." she all but told her eldest child.

"No." Belladonna said in defiance. "Not until I get answers."

"Belladonna Hanako Ketchum, you will recall your Arbok now or else-"

"Or else what? You'll kill her?" Belladonna snapped. "You do that, you lose everything. You'd have to shoot me, which would alienate you from Professor Oak and drive away all three of my siblings. You want to risk it, mom?"

Delia's eyes flashed red before she closed them, thinking about it reasonably. She had been operating on anger for the last week and fell into old, very bad habits.

She almost forgot this was her daughter and her cobra.

"I focused too much on Ash that I forgot," Delia said calmly. "You want answers."

"Yes, I do! Why didn't you tell us?!" she demanded. "After everything, you could have told us we had family!"

"I didn't want him pressing you into joining Team Rocket. It's a family business," Delia said, huffing out the last two words. "And despite everything, he would have welcomed you with open arms because you are his blood. I didn't want that to happen."

"Like we would. Team Rocket's a blight on Kanto and Johto." Belladonna scoffed, recalling her Arbok to her pokeball.

"And what if you got the idea you could change it from within?" Delia asked.

Belladonna blinked, realizing her mother had a point.

"You still should have told us," the daughter muttered.

"It's my responsibility. Which is why I'm going to deal with them once and for all." the matriarch of the Ketchum family vowed. "Except for those three idiots tailing Ash: Giovanni has them protecting him and they were the only ones that never even tried."

"I'm going with you." Belladonna stated. "Professor Oak doesn't need my help at the Ranch. Hell, Ash's Bulbasaur is keeping everyone in line more than I do."

Delia made a double take. "He has a Bulbasaur?" she asked, confused.

"Yeah. Practically runs the place now," her daughter said. "You need help with Team Rocket. What if you get overwhelmed?"

"I wasn't Elite Four for no reason, sweety." Delia said, almost dismissively.

"And what if Giovanni has new friends? There ARE other teams out there and he's pragmatic." Belladonna said, remembering her own fight with the Viridian Gym Leader and how he folded the last battle for the sake of time.

Delia sighed. There was no getting out of this, was there?

"Fine. But if you're not-" she started before a Gengar appeared before her, gray and grinning, confusing her as it spat out a pack and made a laugh.

"…When did you get a Gengar?" her mother asked before looking closely. "Correction, when did you get a SHINY Gengar?"

"I don't show off all the Pokemon I captured." Belladonna said, her left hand placed on her hip as she smirked, Gengar 'eating' the pack again and returning himself to the Pokeball on her belt.

"Since you have nothing better to do, we're leaving," Delia said. "Try to keep up, little Bella."

"Don't call me that," Belladonna groused.

"And tell your girlfriends that you won't be back for a while." Delia said teasingly, getting a blush from her daughter.

* * *

**Saffron City Gym - 1841 local time**

* * *

"He's fine." the doctor said, shaking his head, Misty staring at him in disbelief.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes. Gunshot wounds like this take months to heal from, but nooooooooo, not him." the doctor said mockingly. "He takes a week! Just make sure he doesn't stress himself."

Misty got an evil glint in her eye. "I have a few ideas how to keep that from happening." she said, Ash getting the idea.

And it involved those damned nurse outfits.

"Help," he said quietly, his Natu sitting on Gible's head, silently laughing as the land shark napped.

"Natu." '_No. I'm enjoying this._' she said, not laughing at all, but he knew she was.

The door to the simple bunk room opened, letting in the thrice-damned psychitrist. "Don't mind me," he said, his Gible following him in. "Just want to talk to my patient."

The medical doctor left, not wanting to be with the shrink. NO ONE did, but Anabel needed Ash as a psychic shield and Misty… well, she was dependent on Ash.

"So, all of you are my cases," Gaffery said, his Natu staring at all of them. "This is going to be a hormone-fueled nightmare."

"That's what you think." Ash muttered, Gaffery pretending he didn't hear that.

"Two young women travelling with one man? That is _begging_ for trouble," Gaffery said. "But I have a job to do and that is make sure all of you are mentally healthy."

"You should know Ash took a vow of celibacy," Anabel said quietly. "I think he doesn't want to be like his dad."

"_That's_ going to be difficult," the shrink said, the Natu and Gible nodding furiously.

"I don't need a psychiatrist." Ash said as he got up, returning Gible to his Pokeball and Natu hopping onto his head and nesting on his hat. "I am taking care of my issues on my own. So please just...go home." Ash did not want to talk about the other timeline. He knew he had survivor's guilt, he knew he had problems with the repeated deaths and resurrections and finally he knew he had a goal that would break most men.

But when Ash Ketchum had a goal, he would not stop until it was done.

"I know you're uncomfortable with it. Which is why I am going to wait until you're damn good and ready." the old man said, surprising Ash. "I know our reputation. We invade your privacy, we take your innermost secrets and lay them bare. We make you VERY uncomfortable. And that's why I let my charges come to me. Otherwise… well, not a fun experience for anyone."

Ash blinked. "Huh." he simply muttered.

"I'll wait. I have other things to do while you make up your own damn mind to see me." Gaffery said, his Gible trailing behind him as he left.

"…That man is weird." Misty said after he was out of earshot.

* * *

The troops, as they were, lined up in the gym, Pikachu noticing a few evolutions.

"Pikachu." '_Well, this should make life easier. We're going to Celadon next, just like last time._' the starter said.

"Bulba." '_That Tangela is MINE,_' Bulbasaur declared. No one argued: they all wanted some revenge against certain Pokemon.

Pikachu wasn't fond of the Mew line, for example.

"Char." '_I'm in. I owe Ash anyways,_' Charmeleon said nodding.

"Pidgeot." '_No one holds you responsible for that, Charmeleon. Least of all Ash,_' Pidgeot said, her shoulders aching from Lapras' ice beam barrage.

"Quilava." '_I need to test myself and get used to being a Quilava again. I'll take on this Erika lady's Pokemon._' Quilava said. "Qui?" '_What's her type?_'

Pikachu resisted laughing at the double entendre. "Pika." '_Grass._' he answered.

"Spear?" '_Is it true-_' Spearow started, everyone knowing the answer to that question.

'_YES!_' All of the old crew said at once. "Squirtle!" '_Yes, he dressed up as a girl. No, we don't mock him for it: she was a complete and total bitch to keep him out._' Squirtle said with finality.

No one did: Erika's unreasonable declaration was based off of Ash saying he didn't like her perfume, which had zero bearing on whether or not he was worthy of facing her in battle. In the end, he got his badge, even if Team Rocket had to burn her goddamn greenhouse down to help.

"Gible!" '_I want in! I never got a gym battle in Sinnoh!_' Gible said, hopping up and down.

Everyone looked at the dragon. "Pika?" '_Really? What do you have-_' he started before Gible opened his maw.

And out came fire. A LOT of fire that made Charmeleon double take at the land shark.

"Charmel?!" '_When the hell did you learn flamethrower?!_' he demanded.

"Gib!" '_Watching you!_' Gible said cheerfully.

The flame Pokemon looked at the remains of the fire being put out by Squirtle, Oshawatt, and Totodile.

It brought a tear to his eye.

"Char." '_Welcome aboard._' he said, patting the Gible's back. He then remembered how Gible expressed affection.

CHOMP!

Pikachu sighed along with Butterfree. "Pika?" '_Any other takers? Apparently, it's six vs the leader's in this timeline._' he asked.

"Spear." '_I'll give it a go. Got no interest in evolving, but I do want to give this battle thing a try._' the sparrow Pokemon said.

Gible then let go of Charmeleon and charged a Draco Meteor.

Remembering what that did, everyone dove for cover.

* * *

**RMS _Germanic_ \- 1426 hours local time - 500 kilometers from the Nihon coastline**

* * *

The _Germanic's_ lifeboats were full to bursting, transporting the crew to the somewhat smaller _Aquitania_, which was alongside, but due to the size of the two ships, she had to be two kilometers away.

"I fucking hate the ocean." muttered Baroness Grace Gabena Yeonne as she hung low in the boat, her daughter sitting beside her with her Slyveon on her lap and Ash's Goomy on her head.

"At least we're getting on a faster ship." Serena said, Goomy glancing down fearfully at Ash's mate.

"Goo?" '_Closer to Ash we get, the more terrifying she gets, right?_' Goomy asked.

"Froakie." '_As long as she gets back to normal when we get there,_' Froakie muttered as he sat on the bottom of the steel and wood boat.

"Fletchling!" '_Count us lucky they didn't try to seperate us!_' Fletchling said, Grace's just as seasick as her trainer.

Then the boat was approached by another bird Pokemon. And it wasn't another goddamn Wingull.

It was an owl. With… leaves.

"Noibat?" '…_Is that Rowlet?_' Noibat asked, confused. "Noi!" '_I thought he was in Alola! …with Ash…_'

"Haw!" '_Apparently not!_' said the luchador bird as Rowlet flapped his wings and landed on Goomy.

"…Goomy." '_Get the fuck off me._' Goomy demanded of the bird.

"Rowl?" '_You're a Pokemon?_' Rowlet asked, blinking in surprise.

"Goo." '_I'm a dragon-type, you fucking grass owl. GET OFF ME._' Goomy demanded. Rowlet hopping off onto Grace.

"Rowl." '_You're a mean one, aren't you?_' Rowlet asked. "Let!" '_What's an asshole like you doing with Ash's Pokemon?_'

"Goomy." '_He caught me and released me later on. Also, I know thunderbolt, so don't,_' Goomy said testily.

"Froak." '_Apologies, young one. He doesn't like being surrounded by salt water in a tiny boat._' Froakie said. "Froakie." '_You must be one of Ash's new captures from Alola._'

"Rowlet." '_Yup. His first. The rest of us are on the _Aquitania_._' the owl answered before Serena picked up the owl. "Row?" '_Uh… what is she-_'

"You know them. That means you're one of Ash's!" Serena said, making a very, VERY disturbing smile as she did.

"…Rowl." '_Help,_' he hooed.

"Noi." '_Too late._' Noibat snarked as Serena claimed Rowlet for Ash.

* * *

"How did he get five Pokemon from the most xenophobic region on the planet?" Grace asked as the five Alolan Pokemon joined their Kalosian counterparts.

"Don't know. Don't care!" Serena said. "All I know is, they react to Ash's name, so they have to be his!"

"Litten?" 'This_ is the Serena we all heard about?_' Litten asked Froakie.

"Fro." '_The timeline made her kinda unhinged_.' the ninja replied, getting a 'no shit, Detective Pikachu' look from the Alolan crew that went back in time.

"Goomy." '_As long as Ash likes her and gets other females, I don't care,_' Goomy said, voicing his opinion.

"Froakie." '_You know human society doesn't work that way, right?_' Froakie asked.

"Goomy." '_I'm sorry, ninja frog, does it look like I GIVE A FUCK?_' Goomy asked sarcastically.

"Aw, they're friends!" Serena said cluelessly.

"Meowth." '_What madness have I involved myself in?_' the Alolan Meowth asked himself.

"Grub." '_The GOOD kind._' Grubbin said, and with a grin if he could.

* * *

**Route 7 - En route to Celadon City - 2145 Hours Local Time**

* * *

Camp had been set up and the Pokemon were resting, with the exception of the Natus.

Did those birds even blink?

Regardless, Ash was thinking over his last visit to Celedon. Not the one with May, though that was as bad.

No, he didn't want to relive the Ashley debacle. At least his Pokemon never mocked him for it.

Misty laughed, but it was more 'actually funny' then mocking. Then she insulted Erika a few times, though that was more against her type of choice. And not the Pokemon she used. Ash didn't want to get it.

(Pikachu forced it on him by simply declaring Erika a lesbian. Ash did not want to know)

All he cared about was getting past her. Her Pokemon would be easy enough. It was avoiding the crossdressing that was important.

"Pika?" '_Thinking of the Ashley thing?_' Pikachu asked as he laid beside his trainer.

"It's Celadon. The last thing I want is a repeat of last time." Ash deadpanned.

"Pika-ka." '_Or that time Cilian dressed up as Elesa?_' Pikachu added, making Ash blanch.

"WHY did you bring that up?" he asked, having repressed the memory. More that Cilian did it WILLINGLY than anything else.

"Pika." '_It needed to be said. Could be worse. You could have a sister that looks like the Ashley cosplay._' Pikachu said.

"I don't need that image, Pikachu. I'm STILL not used to the idea of having three siblings." Ash said, rolling over to put his face on the pillow.

"Pika." '_We'll get there tomorrow._' Pikachu said as he laid back as well. "Pika?" '_Any ideas if the same thing happens again?_'

"Legalities." Ash muttered through the pillow.

"Pi." '_Ah, that she can't deny you a battle just because you diss her shop,_' Pikachu said. "Chu?" '_And if that doesn't work?_'

"Arson." Ash answered simply.

No matter what, he was NOT wearing a fucking dress again.

* * *

**Celadon City outskirts - 0956 Hours Local Time - Day 38**

* * *

Ash was not joking about the arson comment. That was actually a suggestion from Charmeleon.

NONE of them wanted him in a dress again. That was just demeaning and insulting.

"You're not seriously going to burn down her gym if she locks the door to you?" Anabel asked, getting that from the surface of his mind.

"Only if she's being unreasonable." Ash replied. "I don't WANT to burn her gym down. But if she tries the same thing she did last time… well, I _technically_ have diplomatic immunity."

That was a joke and they knew it.

Still, that made the girls think about it and Ash took his chance to get further ahead of them.

"Pikachu?" '_Should I prepare the fire brigade?_' his starter asked as they approached the unholy city. (as far as they were concerned)

"Keep them on standby." Ash half-joked. A bit of revenge was not worth losing his badge, but it was a close consolation.

The girls noticed him ahead of them and were not pleased, judging by their screaming.

Though as Anabel was more interested in using him as a shield against other psychics, hers was more frantic and terrified.

* * *

"Bulba." '_At least the shop's in the same place,_' Bulbasaur said as he looked the place over, wanting to be damn sure that burning it down was not necessary. "Bulbasaur." '_Place is FILLED with spores, though._'

"Is she seriously trying to get people killed?!" Ash asked, having breathed in plant-based spores before and it was NOT fun. "How is she still alive?!"

"Pika." '_Let's get this over with,_' Pikachu said as Ash prepared to enter scent hell.

If he had to burn the place down in protest, he would.

He opened the door, unprepared for the wave of smell crashing out of the shop, making not only him and Pikachu, but Misty and Anabel gag.

"Sweet Guardians, how does this woman LIVE with this?!" Anabel cried, the smell being sickly sweet and overpowering, more perfume molecules than air.

"Natu!" '_Got it!_' Natu said as she formed a Barrier that filtered out the worst of it.

And once more, Ash did not care for the smell, even filtered out.

"And perfume is still overrated," he muttered. "You don't need to smell like flowers, you just need to be easy to talk to and get along with."

Misty and Anabel, unbeknownst to him, were taking notes as a woman with short blue hair wearing a kimono approached the trio, smiling happily.

Ash wanted to unleash Charmeleon right then and there, have him burn Erika and get it over with.

"Welcome to the Celadon City Perfume Shop. Are you here for a specific type of perfume?" she asked, seemingly unaffected by the spores and the smell. On the other hand, she probably spent her entire life around this shit.

"No, but I heard this shop is run by the Celadon City Gym leader." Ash said, hoping to be… diplomatic. Violence was the LAST option. "Would you mind asking her to come out? I would like to challenge her."

The woman dropped the saleswoman guise. "I see. Well, you found me. Erika Sakura, at your service." she said. "We'll have to take this outside."

"Sure, anything to get out of the stench." Misty said, sticking as close to Ash as possible to take advantage of Natu's barrier.

Erika, misunderstanding, smiled. "Well, I can find something for your boyfriend so his body odor isn't so putrid." she said as she dragged her out of the barrier, making her start coughing like mad, choking. "What's wrong?"

Ash tugged on her arm, bringing her back under Natu's protective shield. "She was talking about your shop!" he snapped, no longer in the mood to be nice. "Seriously, how do you do business in this place if your customers can't breathe?!"

Erika glared at the boy preparing to challenge her. "For you…" she started before randomly falling asleep mid-speech, making all of them raise an eyebrow before she yawned, awakening. "Well, the meds are wearing off. Where was I?"

"Defending how your customers can't breathe in this spore-infested hellhole?" Anabel snarked, making Ash look at her in surprise. "I can't be nice 24/7."

"They can breathe! Though they always have an Abra or something with them for some reason…" Erika said, Ash facepalming at how this woman could not NOTICE. "That's no reason to insult my shop! Get out-"

"I don't think so." Ash said, preparing to use legalism against her. "You can kick me out of your shop, but you have been challenged to a gym battle."

Erika started before glaring. "My gym is in the shop grounds-"

"Your _shop _is on the _gym _grounds." Misty corrected. "And according to league regulations, you can't stop any challenger without a good reason. I'd know: my sisters tried banning electric-types from the gym a while back. It didn't work."

Erika looked at Misty in surprise. "Wait… Misty?" she said in shock. "They let you GO?"

"That surprising?" she snarked back.

"Given your… condition… I'm surprised you're not shuddering." Erika said dryly before removing Natu from Ash's head. "I don't see what your problem is-"

Then Pikachu and Ash started coughing along with Anabel and Misty, Natu glaring at the grass-type gym leader.

"Natu!" '_Stupid bitch!_' she said before psychically removing her hands from Natu's body, then pecking the gym leader in the head VERY hard.

As she recoiled, Natu jumped back on Ash's head and reestablished the barrier, cleaning the air.

"You… need… to air… this place… out…" Ash choked out.

Erika huffed at that. "I'll check the regulations. Until then, get out of my shop." she snapped.

The trio left gladly, grateful for clean air.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Erika was forced to lead them in the back way, away from the shop of death.

"No one's ever complained about my shop before," she muttered indignantly as they headed for the gym.

"They had psychic-types to filter out the plant spores and the worst of it," Anabel explained. "Barriers are what psychics do best."

"I don't have any psychics and I'm fine!" Erika said, unable to get it.

"Because you've lived in the mix for so long that you're bloody immune!" Ash snapped. "No one else has that kind of protection!"

Erika paused for a minute, thinking about it. "So, I'm the plant version of Koga?" she said in shock. "Never thought of that."

Ash didn't want to know. "Just air the place out," he said.

"Explains why everyone runs through the shop to get to the gym…" Erika muttered as they got to the Gloom-head-shaped building, Erika falling asleep at the doors.

"Pikachu!" '_Oh, for the love of Arceus, I have had ENOUGH,_' Pikachu snarled before using thundershock on the gym leader, zapping her awake.

"…Ow…" she muttered.

"Pika." '_Ash has had worse,_' Pikachu said.

"And I've been shocked by you for how long?" Ash asked dryly as Erika glared at Pikachu.

"He's disqualified," she snapped, pissed off at the mouse.

"That's not your call," Misty said, but Ash just chuckled.

"I wasn't planning on using Pikachu in this anyways." he said. "I just keep him here because he hates Pokeballs." With that, Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder. "But I _do_ reserve the right to have him zap you awake."

"I suffer from narcolepsy!" Erika said, deeply insulted, though she thought about it for a moment before saying "I'll need to find an electric/plant-type."

Misty shuddered at that nightmare combination. "I'm fairly sure they don't exist." Anabel said comfortingly as Erika made her way to the other end of the field.

"I will add a condition to this. If you lose, I make you buy the most powerful perfume I have." Erika said, smiling.

"Fine. My conditions are set anyways: you air out that shop." Ash said as a black haired girl in a pink kimono stepped up to referee.

"The challenger is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, facing Gym Leader Erika! As this is a fifth badge fight, the Leader is allowed four Pokemon while the Challenger is allowed six!" she said. "Gym leader, the opening move is yours."

"Thank you, Ashley, I will." Erika said, making Ash cock his head to one side and stare at the young woman with his crossdressing namesake briefly.

"Go, Tangala!" the gym leader said, releasing the tangled weed Pokemon from a thrown ball.

"Tan!" cried the ball of tumbleweed without a word.

Ash smirked. "I choose you, Bulbasaur!" he called, sending out the Bulb Pokemon from his own, the evil smirk only reserved for Psyduck's tickling appearing on his face.

Erika paled at that smile. It did not belong on a grass-type.

"Bulba." '_Well, you know what time it is_!' Bulbasaur cried. And Ash could almost SWEAR he saw the word 'RAPE' in big blocky letters appear briefly.

Tangala apparently had the same thought as the demonic Bulbasaur rushed at him.

"TAN!" '_FUCK THIS!_' he said as he tried to run, but a vine wrapped around his foot, tripping him and dragging him back, Tangala trying frantically to get away. But as Bulbasaur was proving, resistance was futile.

"Bulba!" '_Time for revenge, buddy!_' Bulbasaur said before making an evil Bulbasaur cackle that made even those that couldn't understand him back away somewhat. Tangala attempted to unleash Stun Spore, but Bulbasaur just lifted him up and slammed him into the ground.

"Pika." '_He's bitter about last time._' Pikachu said, though only Ash could understand him. That didn't make it better to stomach as Bulbasaur was relentless, slamming him repeatedly.

"I'm half-tempted to cry foul, but Tangala knows Constrict, so…" Ashley muttered as the one-sided asskicking continued before Tangala was thrown towards Erika, slamming into the ground in front of her.

"Are all of your Pokemon ill-tempered?!" Erika demanded as Bulbasaur approached.

"He has issues with Tangala." Ash deadpanned. '_This one, mostly,_' he thought to himself before Bulbasaur wrapped a vine around Tangala once more.

"Tan!" '_HELP!_' Tangala cried before Bulbasaur used Venoshock of all things on the grass-type, followed by sludge bomb and...

"Oh, COME ON!" Erika yelled as Bulbasaur used Sleep Powder on the tumbleweed, putting him out of the fight for good. "That's just insulting!"

"Bulba." '_So was making my trainer dress like a girl!_' Bulbasaur snapped back, the angry cry making the Gym Leader recoil.

None of Ash's Kanto Pokemon liked Erika. Sue them.

The rest weren't pleased with the incident when they heard how humiliating it was for their trainer, either.

"I… don't think I have to say who won, do I?" Ashley asked in fear of the evil Bulb Pokemon.

"For the record, I do not support what Bulbasaur did!" Ash said. '_Though I will not argue against him getting payback,_' he thought.

"Yes. They don't seem to like me very much." Erika muttered as she returned Tangala's broken form. "Must've been the spore choking. Recall your Pokemon. That… thing… disturbs me."

"Bulba-Saur." '_GOOD,_' Bulbasaur said before he was returned.

"Next Pokemon?" Ashley said before finding something to serve as a shield. Knowing the last match, it was going to get… violent.

"Go, Weepinbell!" Erika called, sending out the second-stage of the Pitcher Plant Pokemon line. "Weep!" '_Wait, I'm being sent out for a challenger? Usually Tangala mops the field with them!_' Weepingbell said.

Ash then sent out his own Pokemon. "Go, Quilava!" he cried, making Erika almost weep herself as Quilava appeared.

"Damn it, I should have expected this," she groused. "And sent out Lombre instead." She did have a Leafeon that knew Rain Dance, but Lombre made life hell for fire-types.

"Qui!" '_hi!_' Quilava said cheerfully, which made Erika sigh with relief. A Pokemon that DIDN'T want to burn her alive.

Unknowingly, Ash was saving Charmeleon for her Gloom and THEN the pain and flame would begin.

He wasn't paying for the Pokemon Center visit.

"Take down that overgrown weed, Quilava!" Ash ordered, giving the only command he would make in this fight.

"Qui!" '_On it!_' Quilava said as her back caught fire, then she jumped into the air, using Flame Wheel.

"Weepingbell, GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!" Erika said to her pitcher plant before he began running for his life.

Sadly, some things were impossible, as Quilava wasn't just using Flame Wheel. Moves that wouldn't interfere with one another were often linked together. In this case, Aerial Ace and Flame Wheel combined with Odor Sleuth made it impossible to dodge.

The only hope Weepingbell had was to outlast it by running.

Ashley used a ballistics shield to cover herself from the flames as Weepingbell ran like hell from the fireball of doom, Ash just flicking the embers away and Erika watched in horror as the ball got closer.

And closer.

AND CLOSER.

Weepingbell finally tired and Quilava slammed into the grass/poison-type. He caught fire immediately.

Erika returned him the moment Quilava shot past, knowing she lost that.

Quilava circled the field three times before the fire stopped, rolling to a stop and landing on her legs.

"Qui-Lava!" '_That was fun!_' she said.

"That was horrifying!" Erika yelled. "Recall that… adorable fire-type!" Anathema to her chosen type or not, Quilava was cute and she was not immune.

"Is Weepinbell-" Ash started before Erika shuddered.

"He's fine. No more fire." she said, but Ash shook his head.

"Up to you, Quilava." he said, Quilava taking battle ready position, facing Erika. The gym leader was not pleased.

"I know how to deal with you." she said before sending out a Pokemon Ash knew from Sinnoh.

An eeveelution. "Leaf." '_A fire-type. Wonderful,_' the Leafeon, a female, huffed.

"Rain Dance!" Erika ordered before Ash could get a word off, a downpour starting, making fire useless. She smugly thought she had this in the bag now. Flying-types were grounded and fire-

"Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered, making Erika blanch momentarily as Quilava slammed into Leafeon, the weakened flying attack hurting the grass eeveelution but not knocking her out of the fight.

"Leaf." '_That. Hurt,_' she spat before gathering water-type energy.

"Weather Ball!" Erika ordered, Leafeon firing at Quilava, who Quick Attacked to dodge before using Aerial Ace and slamming into Leafeon again before the Verdant Pokémon slammed back into Quilava, getting into a close-in biting fight. But Quilava, while not in body, was a veteran of combat. She avoided attacks repeatedly prior to the fight while Leafeon… Aerial Ace was not an attack grass-types liked.

Leafeon bit Quilava's shoulder, Quilava doing the same to the Eeveelution's right leg, tugging and twisting to do what damage they could.

But Quilava's limbs were short and shocky. Leafeon's, elegant and more fragile. If this got into a contest of bite force and bone strength, the fire-type would beat the grass-type.

Erika knew this. "Enough!" she cried, returning Leafeon before Quilava could do more then cause easily-treated burns and forfeiting that round. "Why are your Pokemon this aggressive?!"

'_Revenge for last time and putting me in a dress_?' Ash thought. "I think they're taking you trying to choke me to death by plant spores seriously." he said.

Erika scowled. "Time to stop pussyfooting around." she said. With that, she tossed a pokeball out. "Go, Vileplume!"

"Vileplume?" Ash asked as the Flower Pokémon appeared out of the ball. He was expecting Gloom.

"Yes, Vileplume! I'd send out a Gloom, but your Pokemon demand a fully-evolved grass-type!" Erika replied, somewhat unhinged. Then again, his Pokemon had been...relentless.

And getting swept under the rug was probably not doing wonders for her sanity after the revelation that her customers risked death every time they walked into her shop.

Ash was tempted to send out Charmeleon.

...No, he'd be merciful as he pulled out another Pokeball.

"Go, Gible!" he called, sending out the Land Shark Pokemon, who flew upwards.

"Gible!" '_Yay_!' Gible yelled.

CHOMP!

Before landing on Ash's head and warbling happily until seeing he was in a place that looked like a League battlefield and jumped down, dancing as soon as he hit the ground.

Erika's eyes twitched at the sight of the land shark, smiling at her with that gaping maw.

"Gible. You have a Gible." she said slowly. "You have a FUCKING Gible?!"

"Gible?" '_What's wrong with me being a Gible?_' Gible asked, leaning to one side like a human would tilt their head.

"What's wrong with Gible?" Ash asked for his land shark.

"I should have known you were one of those smogon trainers," she spat. "Take that ground-type down, Vileplume! Dazzling Gleam!"

"Dig!" Ash ordered, Gible getting underground before the pink fairy dust could be launched at him, instead hitting the ground where he was.

Vun-Vun.

And that damned music was playing. Why only with Gible?

"Giga Drain! Suck the life out of that land shark!" Erika commanded as the walking flower tried just that, green energy entering the ground.

But Vileplume was confused. Almost like-

CHOMP!

The ground exploded behind the glass-type before Gible latched his maw onto the pedals, eyesmiling the entire time.

Like he was playing.

In fact, he WAS playing. The land shark wasn't taking this seriously. It was just a game to someone that fought a Darkrai, even if the cheating bastard put him to sleep.

Tobias was going to be in for a rude awakening when the Lily of the Valley conference happened.

"Vile!" '_Get off!_' Vileplume cried, the male flower not wanting the land shark attached to his pedals. "Plume!" '_Fucking ground-type, GET OFF and know your betters!_'

Gible's eyes snapped open as he bit harder, then let go and used his ramjet-like 'horns' to remain airborne for 15 seconds as Vileplume cried out in pain.

And that was all it took for the Draco Meteor forming in his maw to charge up as he faced Vileplume, fin facing the ground.

"Gi!" '_See you-_' Gible started before spitting out the ball of dragonic energy. "Ble!" '_Later!_'

"DAZZLING GLEAM!" Erika cried, attempting to use the attack as a makeshift shield.

"Vile!" the Vileplume cried as he obeyed, the Draco Meteor fizzling out on impact with the fairy dust.

"Let's end this-" Erika started before…

"Gible!" Gible cried wordlessly before firing another one, this one not going upward but heading STRAIGHT at the Flower Pokemon. And it was homing, as Vileplume ran to avoid the area attack.

"Gib! Gib! Gib! Gib! Gib! Gib! Gib! Gib!" Gible went as he fired off weaker Meteors, slamming in front of the grass-type even as the other one exploded.

None of them hit, but that wasn't the point.

Gible inhaled, then began spitting out more at a rate that would horrify anyone facing it.

And anyone commanding the Pokemon using it, as Ash stared in dumb shock as Gible turned the slow-to-charge Draco Meteor into a MACHINE GUN.

"Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib!" Gible cried, and with each 'Gib', a small homing ball of doom.

"Is… this normally how Draco Meteor works?" Misty asked as she pulled over a piece of sheet metal to protect against any meteor fragments coming hers and Anabel's way.

"I don't think so, but I'm used to psychic-types." Anabel said as one plinked off the metal. "I don't know anything about Gibles other than they like to bite."

After two minutes of non-stop Gib-ing, the battlefield was a wreck.

"…I am banning that after this is over." Erika said as she looked at the ruined field.

"Pretty sure you can't ban a move-" Ash started before Erika looked back at him.

"I WILL FUCKING TRY! She snapped back. "That damned ground shark shouldn't be able to do that!"

Gible was not pleased. "Gib!" '_I am not a just ground-type!_' he cried. "GIBLE!" '_I AM A DRAGON!_'

Ash would correct his cute, if annoyed, land shark if he didn't start glowing.

Erika began sobbing at this. "Aaawwww, FUCK." she cursed as Gible's form began to change, the arms growing longer and the body becoming more defined and longer, growing an actual neck and the head becoming larger as the arms grew large fins.

Gible was no more as the glowing stopped.

"BITE!" '_I am going to kick your ass!_' the newly evolved Gabite yelled as he charged at the stunned Vileplume as his trainer resigned herself to defeat.

Vileplume tried to flee, but Gabite was faster, his jaw snapping shut on the Vileplume's petals before beginning to thrash him about, the larger land shark instinctively using Dual Chop to HACK two of the pedals off, Gabite then using flamethrower on the flower for the sake of overkill.

"YOU WIN ALREADY! CALL THE DAMN THING OFF!" Erika said as her Pileplume was torched with normal, then dragonfire as Gabite used Dragonbreath on the Flower Pokemon.

"Gabite! That's enough!" Ash said, getting the pissed off Land Shark's attention.

"Bite?" '_Gabite? I'm a Gible._' he said before he looked at himself. "BITE!" '_I evolved!_' With that, Gabite prepared to celebrate the only way he knew how and rushed towards his trainer.

Sadly, Gabite was about to learn that only Gibles could do this.

CHOMP!

Ash screamed as Gabite's teeth began crushing his skull, blood dripping from his head.

Erika took some solace in that. "Now you know how I feel." she muttered before just throwing over the badge as Gabite let go, Misty checking on Ash to make sure he wasn't going to die. "Get out of my gym. I never want to see you again."

Gabite turned towards Erika, who paled before she was dosed in dragonfire.

* * *

**Pokemon Center - 45 minutes later**

* * *

Ash owed her an explanation and he gave it to her.

"I kicked you out just because you insulted my shop?" she asked before dunking her face in berry juice to treat Gabite's angry Dragonbreathing. "I haven't done that since I took over the gym."

Yes, he told her about the timeline. How he was forced to go in, dressed as a girl, just to get the badge she denied him because she was being a bitch.

And that his Pokemon didn't like her for it. Thus the relentless, merciless asskicking.

"You were younger in the other timeline." Ash said as Misty checked his head. "And I wasn't as smart."

Erika sighed. "That explains everything. I'm not happy with what happened, but given the last time… I suppose I can't hold it against you completely."

'_Please no,_' Ash said, not wanting the girl turning into this timeline's Brock.

"Still, you have to understand, I am a business woman. A criticism against my shop isn't something to go over well," Erika said. "I doubt you react well to your style of battle being insulted."

"When I was _ten_. After two years, I got over it," Ash admitted with a shrug. "They usually see the way I do things works after a battle."

People like Paul still pissed him off, though.

"_Ash Ketchum, please come to the foyer. Ash Ketchum, the foyer please_," came the voice of the Nurse Joy over the PA.

"Oh, boy," Ash muttered as he got up.

* * *

"Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttteeeeeeeeeee…" cried Gabite as he chewed on a spring-loaded jaw-trap.

Apparently, this happened more often than one would think. It also explained why Garchomps were so damn angry.

They couldn't chomp on the head of their trainer without hurting or actually killing them.

"_I see your Gible evolved_." Professor Oak said on the videophone, already knowing about Gible via the Pokemon information system. "_And the infamous Ga-Bite_."

Ash was not amused by the pun. His head was still hurting.

"_I _do_ have a solution for you, but it will be a long and painful one for both Gabite and yourself_." Oak said as a Pidgey flew in, looking incredibly pissed off, a piece of purple stone attached to its' leg. "_Observe_."

"Professor, I don't know how that will help," Ash said, recognizing the material as eviolite. All of his Pokemon that didn't want to evolve could use it, sure, but Gabite wanted to bite.

He put the Pidgey on the ground and removed the eviolite, standing back as the Pidgey began to grow.

A LOT.

After a minute, a Pidgeot stood in its' place. Ash's Pidgeot, which then pecked Oak gently, but harshly. Ash suspected only his advanced age saved him from anything worse.

For his part, he only rubbed his head as she walked out. "_Evolite doesn't just enhance unevolved Pokemon, as you just saw. It can also be used to revert Pokemon to an earlier state in their evolutionary cycle once they evolve to their end state_."

Ash felt breathing down his neck. And it had to be Gabite, because he was drooling over the idea of being a Gible again.

"BITE!" '_I want to be a Gible!_' he cried, trying to chomp, but the heavy springs stopped him.

* * *

The TRio watched from the glass ceiling, keeping an eye on their charge.

"A Gabite… Imagine-" Jessie started before Meowth whacked her on the head.

"No! Our job's to protect the twerp!" Meowth snapped. "You wanna get in shit with the Boss' sister?"

James wanted to sob at that mention.

A pop-hiss revealed the unwanted one.

"WOOBBBBUFETT!" Jessie's new Wobbufett cried.

Jessie returned him to his ball, annoyed.

* * *

**Forest 12 kilometers south of Celedon City - 1845 Hours Local Time**

* * *

"Your Xatu needs to work on his teleporting." Belladonna groaned as she got off the ground, her mother checking over her handgun after returning the bird.

"You need to get used to his methods." Delia said before gesturing to a hump in the ground in a clearing. "See that?"

Belladonna followed her hand, seeing the earthen hump. "So what?" she asked. "It might be a Gible township."

"Land sharks stick to dry earth unless caught." Delia said as she slowly approached it. "That's manmade." She brushed some of it aside, revealing a chrome-plated chain. "Give me a hand?"

Belladonna chuckled as she walked over, grabbing the chain and looping it over one hand to give her greater grip. Mother and daughter tugged, the earth parting reluctantly before a set of stairs was revealed leading underground.

"Trust your mother's intuition." she said, her daughter scoffing.

"Yeah, when you tell me everything." Belladonna muttered as she dropped the chain, gun in hand as they entered the depths, not knowing something was watching them.

That something was hungry for blood.

* * *

The base had the Rocket R on every door in the crude earthworks base. Crude did not mean simple. The place was massive.

"No guards?" Belladonna muttered as they practically wondered the base at will.

"Erika is notoriously incompetent at the other aspects of her job." Delia said. "Good at selling perfume and gym battles once she has her pills, but keeping the area around Celedon secure? Pfft. There's a reason the Team has full control of that Game Corner."

"I thought I burned that place down." Belladonna said, getting a look from Delia. "They attacked me and that Salazzle that got wondertraded to me-"

"I'm _surprised_, not disapproving," her mother said before they heard yelling.

"...sake, you old bastard, I don't take orders from you!" yelled a man Delia knew from the past.

It appeared Giovanni had Proton released, though he was coughing after that rant.

"Giovanni's put you under my command, boy. You follow my orders as you would his," said the man he was arguing with.

A Unovan. One they both knew.

"Ghetsis?" Belladonna asked, getting a look from her mother. "I ran into him on Cinnabar Island during my league run. What's he doing back in Kanto?"

"I'm asking the same question. Because I thought I shot him in the head when I made MY League journey in Unova." Delia said before grimacing. "Broke both his legs and shot him in the face. I thought I killed him."

They peeked into the room, finding Proton with bandages around his gut, sitting in a chair and Ghetsis lording over him, an eyepatch over his left eye, just as Belladonna remembered him.

"Well, at least I popped an eyeball." her mother deadpanned.

"Keep your damn knights on Cinnabar. We already had an incident with them near Vermillion." Proton snapped as he coughed. "That brat was there, too."

"Belladonna?" Ghetsis said, smiling lecherously. "That girl is a feast for the-"

Two gunshots rang out, impacting Ghetsis' armored jacket. Mother and daughter exchanged a look as both took a shot at him.

Proton dove for cover, knowing better than to fight Delia.

"My, my, Delia Sakai and Belladonna Ketchum." Ghetsis said, chuckling. "Two beauties from two different times."

The response to that was further gunfire from the two disgusted women, hitting the armored longcoat.

"You still owe me an eye, Delia dear!" Ghetsis said before raising his arm, holding a cane whose cap dropped down to reveal a gun barrel.

"FUCK!" Belladonna said as mother and daughter ducked behind the two walls at the entrance, the hardened earth stopping the barrage of automatic gunfire from killing the two.

"He STILL has that thing?" Delia spat as she pulled out her rifle, cocking the bolt and loading it.

"STILL? I thought that thing was new!" Belladonna said before the gunfire stopped and the pop-hiss of a Pokeball was heard.

"Hydreigon, bring them to me! Burn them if you must!" the so-called King of Unova ordered as his most powerful Pokemon roared, the dark/dragon-type spewing fire.

Dragonfire shot into the passage, Delia flinching before sending out Mimey to block the fire and let her put a round in the bastard's rotten head.

A Dark Pulse put an end to that plan, with Mimey only surviving by using Dazzling Gleam as a shield against the dark-type attack.

"The same trick won't work twice, girl!" Ghetsis cackled before the roof began to shake. "What in hell's name-"

The roof then caved in under massive force, grunts in adjoining rooms being buried alive, Ghetsis getting hit by compacted earth before something slammed into his dragon at high speed.

It was a minor annoyance.

But minor or not, Shadow Pokemon were not to be screwed with.

"Jiiiiiiiiigggggggggggggglllllllyyyyypuuuuuufffffffffff…" the attacker said, looking at them with blank eyes.

"You have got to be kidding me." All three combatants said, Proton crawling out of the rumble made by the Shadow Jigglypuff.

"PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!" screamed the psychotic fairy/normal-type, using Hyper Voice to further destroy the base. Belladonna and Delia fired at the puff, Mimey returning to his Pokeball as the Shadow Pokemon kept SCREAMING, tearing the place apart.

Ghetsis was buried under a pile of compacted earth, his Hydreidon's ears bleeding as he rampaged, tearing through the ground as much as the Shadow puff.

"We're leaving!" Delia said, releasing Xatu and grabbing onto her daughter, teleporting them away.

* * *

**Cinnabar Island - 1738 hours local time**

* * *

Giovanni didn't want to do this. Bringing in his sister's old enemies was a bad thing.

But Team Plasma was willing to shove resources and equipment his way. Unovans: they wanted to take over the world, no matter what organization they were part of.

Ghetsis' Genesect research and cloning tanks were being funneled into the old labs underneath Blaine's burnt-out mansion, along with the… other clone.

"How in the hell did you idiots manage to replicate Project Mewtwo?" the Rocket Boss asked as the Plasma research head walked up.

Colress, his name was. "It wasn't difficult. Mew's DNA mutates whenever something tries to replicate it. Trying to keep it the same results in…" he gestured to the tank with the Plasma crest on it, containing the same thing that was in the stasis tank containing the results of Project Mewtwo.

Blaine had notes on a Pokemon he called '150', as Mew was officially registered as 151 in the International Pokemon Registry Index, better known as the National Dex as it was made in the old URN before the Cipher war.

"This better be worth it." Giovanni spat. Unovans. Always out to take over the world.

* * *

Entry 25: Gabite

Gabite, alternatively referred to as both the Land Shark and Cave Pokemon, are the second stage of the Garchomp line. Much larger than their pre-evolved selves, Gabites learn quickly that what they could do as Gibles is no longer possible.

Ash Ketchum has captured a Sinnohan Gible (Kantoan Gibles have green stripes, Sinnohan, teal) which has recently evolved into Gabite. Aggression levels are off the charts, more so than any other Gabite encountered.

Giovanni has ordered everyone to avoid his nephew or he will let them die at the hands of his Gabite.

* * *

Entry 26: Evolite

Discovered over 700 years ago, evolite has been used in battles by non-evolved Pokemon ever since, turning from a weapon of war to one for competitions.

Professor Oak demonstrated evolite's lesser-known ability to transform a Pokemon back to an earlier state by turning his Charizard into a Charmander, earning him his doctorate in AS15. Since then, the ability has been more or less forgotten in favor of rebuilding the world after Oak's other major discoveries.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: I know, I know. Erika was VERY much out of character compared to the games. Here, she's an overworked gym leader and shop owner suffering from the same condition as her **_**PRB **_**self. Just ask any overworked business owner with two jobs: they get testy easily. Now, she is competent in her role: top eight and all, but against Ash's Pokemon, she stood no chance.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah. Ash's Pokemon had the motivation to win, the experience of a second timeline, and the desire for revenge. Plus, Ash's Pikachu just got fed up with the narcolepsy.**

**Thor: Such a powerful creature. While I would never take one that belongs to another, I certainly wouldn't mind having one as a partner.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Eh, compared to some of the other electric-types, most Pikachu aren't that powerful. Ash's is one of the upper echelon, and making him a Shadow Pokemon has only increased his power.**

**Ron the True Fan: She humiliated them AND their trainer. She should count herself lucky Charmeleon wasn't used. He knows Blast Burn. And while his body ain't ready… HE DOESN'T GIVE A FUCK. As for Gible… well, they're uncommon captures in Kanto. Vileplume only saw the ground, not the dragon. He paid the price and now we have Gabite.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, and Gabite, while much more powerful, can't bite without injuring Ash anymore. Though… there is a solution.**

**Ron the True Fan: On that note, Ash will NOT be crossdressing. EVER. That was a humiliation that should have happened ONCE and ONLY once. (Natu prepares to peck) Don't you da-(Jackhammer pecking) GODDAMN IT!**

**Ja Ne!**


	19. Chapter 18: Reminder of the Past

**Ron the True Fan: Ok, time to put the Erika nonsense to rest: Ash's Pokemon had the experience of MULTIPLE Leagues, not to mention wanting payback for the bullshit that was Pokemon Scent-ations. (Sweet fucking Arceus, I HATE that episode)**

**117Jorn: Eh, it was kinda funny but yeah - I am no fan of Erika as a person. You can't just block some 14 year old from pursuing his career path just because he said a few offensive things about scents. **

**Takeshi Yamato: That's for sure. I mean, there are legitimate reasons to ban someone but that's not one of them.**

**Thor: Aye.**

**Takeshi Yamato: And yes, folks, Thor ain't leaving the Author's Notes. (glares at Ron) someone needs to keep this asshole in line, after all.**

**Thor: That, and I am growing interested in these creatures.**

**Ron the True Fan: As if the Natus weren't bad enough. And now, to introduce an old… friend. (Mutters an old _Smash_ meme in shock)**

* * *

**Celadon City Pokemon Center - 0658 hours local time - Day 40 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

"I'm fine. Really." Ash insisted as the local Nurse Joy and her Chancey examined his scalp.

"You were bit by a Pokemon whose bite force is only surpassed by its' evolution, the Sandile line and the Tyrantrum line." the pinkette answered as she made damn sure he was fine. "Forgive me for wanting to make sure."

The sarcasm was strong in this one.

"Chan." '_He's fine. Why are we even bothering to check? We're not seeing exposed brains and he's perfectly lucid,_' Chansey said, though only Ash could understand her. "Chansey." '_I am very sorry for this: she's only following the orders of the Gym Leader to make sure_.'

"I'm shocked." Ash deadpanned. Erika might not have entirely blamed him for his Pokemon's desire for payback, but she wanted to make him suffer just a little for what happened to her Vileplume.

"Chan?" '_Wait… did you just-_'

"Yup." Ash answered, not needing to hear the rest of the question.

"You're talking to yourself." the Joy said. "That's a good enough reason to-"

"I was talking to your Chansey, Nurse Joy." Ash clarified. "I'm not sure if Erika told you, but I can understand Pokemon speech."

She looked at the brown-eyed trainer critically, but then Chansey nodded to confirm it before saying something to Ash, just to make it clear.

"Chansey said something about something involving you, Erika and a rose bush." Ash said, making the Joy blush. "I don't want to know what happened. Believe me."

The medical professional chuckled nervously. "Well, you have two girls travelling with you and they're not glaring at you that often…" she said, the aforementioned duo glaring at Ash, but more out of worry then annoyance. They WERE annoyed that this was taking so long, but that was it.

"I think they just want to leave," Ash said. So did he: there was no Psyduck situation to resolve here and he had his badge.

After a second, the Joy threw up her hands. "You're free to leave. Just try not to get bitten again. Or worse," she said.

"I'll try to. Thanks, Nurse Joy." Ash said as he put on his jacket and hat.

Plop!

"Natu." '_About damn time,_' said Natu as she nested on his head.

* * *

Two hours later, they finally saw the forests Kanto was known for.

In the old days, Kanto was the United Region of Nihon's technological powerhouse and while that had stalled, it had not changed, only adapted to the realities of a world with Pokemon you could not trust.

Thanks to Erika being overworked in running her shop and the gym and having almost no time to do the more important parts of her job, Celadon's outskirts were INFESTED with Shadow Pokemon.

So, people leaving the western part of Celadon were required by law to have their weapons in hand at all times.

"I hate this timeline," Ash muttered as he was forced by law to carry his rifle in his hands, Pikachu on his right shoulder and Natu on his head.

In front of him was Riolu, having tired of staying at the ranch and punching the crap out of other Pokemon. It was the perfect Pokemon to deal with Shadow Pokemon, in fact: the purified Aura used by Lucario using Aura Sphere was not something that Shadow Pokemon were fond of.

"At least Riolu can fight the Shadow Pokemon," Anabel said as Riolu looked back and smiled.

"Ri!" '_I will do what I can, psychic lady,_' he said, turning his head back to the road as they continued down the trail.

If Ash remembered, Cycling Road was this way: a downhill ride straight to Fucshia. And then he'd have to spend the next week hunting for Koga's gym.

Every other gym leader he faced had their gym in the open: why did Koga put his in the middle of nowhere?

"Thinking?" Misty asked, noticing the look on Ash's face. "You know, I have to ask…"

"What's up?" Ash asked in return.

"Did you think a lot in the other timeline?" Misty asked. "It's just… you don't seem like the type for deep introspection."

Ash would have been insulted, but she was right. In the old days, he was more action then deep thought.

"Not really. Isn't… well…" Ash trailed off.

"Just what you did, not how you acted," Misty answered.

Apparently, her psychic imprint forgot he was a bit of a dumbass. That or found it endearing and left it be.

"That and something about Maiden's Peak?" Misty said, Ash paling.

'_No. Hell no. FUCK no,_' he thought, making Anabel recoil somewhat.

There was no WAY in hell he was going back to that place.

The sound of cracking and popping was heard as two Voltorb-fueled motorcycles came at them, two normally-intimidating-looking bikers with the typical biker look of rough-worn jeans and leather jackets.

Normally.

"RUN!" they yelled as they drove past.

"Ri?" '_Should we not see what they're running from?_' Riolu asked his trainer.

"Normally, when tough guys run, that's a sign to run." Ash said. "Unfortunately, we don't have any way to Fuchsia other than that road."

And unless Ash caught a Lugia or something (which was never going to happen: he knew better) they had to go on foot.

"I swear, Arceus hates me," Ash muttered.

* * *

**Cycling Road/Route 17 - 1019 hours local time**

* * *

"How?" Misty asked as they looked at the destruction of the downhill run, small fires burning everywhere.

"It had to be a Shadow Pokemon," Ash said, knowing even Team Rocket wouldn't do this.

Team Aqua and Magma, maybe, Team Plasma DEFINITELY, but why would Team Rocket do this to themselves? They were basically the criminal underworld here.

"What could it have been?" Anabel asked, looking at the fires. "It had to breathe fire."

"A Shadow Charizard?" Misty asked, shuddering at the idea of the pseudo-dragon screaming and burning.

"A Shadow Garchomp? We saw what a Gabite could do to Ash's head." Anabel said, making Ash's eye twitch.

"Thank you for the reminder," he said sarcastically, remembering all too well Gabite's infamous chomp.

An explosion caught their attention as whatever caused it landed in sight, angry and bruised.

And pink.

And FAMILIAR.

"You have got to be kidding me," both Ash and Misty said, making them stare at one another as the Pokemon got up.

The eyes were dark and soulless. But that only made it worse to remember.

"Jiiiiiiiggggggggggglllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyppppppppuuuuuuuufffffffffffffffffff…" said the psychotic Shadow Pokemon, clearly driven mad from being what it was.

"Piiiiiiiikkkkkkkkkaaaaaa…" '_Ash… that's the Jigglypuff from Neon Town! The one-_'

"SHADOW BOLT!" Ash yelled, remembering all the times that thing put him to sleep.

The first five times were kinda funny. The rest were just infuriating. Not to mention the doodling was annoying as hell.

Black lightning shot at the Balloon Pokemon, hitting and throwing the damn thing back.

It didn't take it down.

"PUUUUUUUUUUUUUFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!" screamed the Jigglypuff, using a Shadow version of Hyper Voice, causing rocks to crack and Misty's ears to start bleeding as her eardrums burst.

Anabel made a barrier to block the worst of it and Ash… well, Aura use was instinctive, so he was fine.

But Misty's ears bleeding only made Ash mad. They would have made him mad in the old timeline, but here… he nearly pulled out his pistol and shot the damn thing.

He instead looked to Riolu. "Use Aura Sphere! Punch that thing's lights out!" he ordered, Riolu nodding and running at the pink puff.

"Jiiiiiiiiiiggggggggg." said the pink freak of nature as it used Rollout, rushing upwards at Riolu.

"Ri!" '_Take this_!' Riolu cried as he used Aura Sphere, the purified energy hitting the corrupted Pokemon hard, overwhelming the rock-type power it used for the move and making the normal/fairy feel like absolute shit in the doing.

"PUFF!" said the pink monster as it flew back, taking in a deep breath and belching out fire.

"Flamethrower?!" Ash yelped as he dove for cover. "Since when could Jigglypuff learn Flamethrower?!"

"Natu." '_Since 16 years ago,_' quipped the bird on his head.

"That's not helpful, Natu!" Ash yelled at the parrot.

"Natu." '_Well, that Jigglypuff is rushing at Anabel. Is that helpful?_' she asked.

Ash blinked before seeing the pink terror flying at Anabel, her Eevee and Abra doing their damnedest to slow it down so Anabel could get her Natu out and teleport the hell away.

As a certain Russian would say, they failed. (MJOL-WHACK!)

Jigglypuff got into the air just as Anabel, fumbling, got Natu out of his ball, only for the puff ball to generate lightning in its' hand.

Anabel's bird didn't act fast enough, Jigglypuff's thunder punch slamming into Anabel's chest, right above her heart.

The psychic fell like a toppling building, Natu squawking like crazy like…

Like Anabel's heart just stopped.

"ANABEL!" Ash yelled as she fell, her Pokemon getting brushed aside by the Shadow Pokemon and the Jigglypuff looked at him with eyes of hate and disgust.

Fair enough: he wasn't a fan of the damn thing, either.

"Puuuffff." '_You smell. Like fire lizard._' the Shadow Pokemon said for the first time, sounding like a demonic girl. "Jiiiiggggggggggg." '_You have fire lizard. I killed fire lizard's master._'

Jigglypuff killed Damian? …well, Ash wasn't going to complain about an asshole like him getting purged.

Anabel was another story.

"Puff." '_You stink. Die._' With that, the screaming cries became impossible to hear properly. The translation was another story. '_DIE DIE DIE DIE!_'

Ash was far enough away to weigh his options.

He could get Pikachu to shock the damn thing into submission so he could shoot it. It would be payback for all the Singing into submission and the doodling.

…No. That wasn't him. Death was a last resort.

His hand brushed by another option.

He had recently started carrying two Pokeball belts, a gift from Sabrina.

One for his primary team… one for easy access to fresh Pokeballs.

…Well, it worked for Psyduck.

Jigglypuff rushed at Ash, fist ready to cave his skull in.

Ash removed the ball from the clip, raised his arm…

And the Jigglypuff's puffy fist hit the button, activating the capture mechanism.

Normally, the Pokemon would fight back, resist and oftentime break loose. If they willingly activate the mechanism...instant capture. Wittingly or not, Jigglypuff just captured herself.

Ash dropped the ball, running towards Anabel's body.

"Natu!" '_If I knew this was going to happen, I would have sent her back to Saffron!_' Anabel's Natu said as he pecked his trainer's head.

"Natu." '_No one could have predicted this would happen,_' Ash's Natu said. "Natu!" '_but she can still be saved. Where's Pikachu?_'

"Why do we need Pikachu?! It's not like shocking her again will help!" Ash yelled.

"Natu." '_We can restart her heart._' she said. "Natu." '_Though you'll need to perform CRP or whatever it's called._'

Ash paled. CPR? …well, it wasn't a kiss, so it didn't count.

Pikachu finally got over to them, his ears not picking up Anabel's heartbeat. "Pika!" '_FUCK!_' he swore.

"Pikachu, we can still help her-" Ash started before Pikachu started zapping Anabel repeatedly and in vain.

"Natu!" '_You have to shock her HEART, you damned mouse!_' Anabel's Natu squacked before Pikachu zapped him as well, the flying-type falling on his head before Pikachu did just that, perking up as his ears picked up a chaotic heartbeat, weak, but pumping and demanding air her lungs didn't have in them.

That was where Ash came in as he took in a deep breath and pressed his lips to hers, breathing into her mouth, trying to get her lungs working with her heart.

After two tries, Anabel started coughing, gasping for air.

She was alive.

"Naaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttuuuuuu…" '_Look at all the pretty Latis…_' Anabel's parrot squawked deliriously.

"WHAT?!" Misty yelled, unable to hear a damn thing.

* * *

Explosions and loud sounds normally got everyone's attention.

Such was the case with Lara Laramie and the others from her ranch as they rode towards the source, expecting destruction and dead bodies.

Well, they weren't disappointed. Plenty of both at the base of the hill.

"Why the hell'd we even come here?" Dario asked as they looked at the carnage. "We know what happened: some Shadow Pokemon killed everyone."

"We're lookin' for survivahs, ya dumbass." Lara snapped. "Circle around, get up that hill. We find anyone alive, we get them to the ranch."

Dario grumbled, but his Dodrio started moving for him as Lara followed, her borrowed Rapidash close behind.

Not because she liked him. Because he was incompetent at anything that wasn't bird keeping. He might get someone killed.

They heard someone screaming from halfway down the hill, where a redhead with… well, Lara would be jealous at the girl's chest later. From the dried blood leaking from her ears, the poor girl's eardrums burst.

"We're gonna have to get that Blissey workin' on her ears." Lara muttered before noticing a boy around the redhead's age helping a lavender-haired girl to her feet, the girl shaking like crazy.

"Hey!" Lara yelled, getting the kid's attention. "You alraight? Wha the hell happened ere?"

The kid coughed, the girl he was supporting shaking like she was hit by lightning. "A Shadow Jigglypuff." he answered, laughing as if the idea of a Shadow Jigglypuff was ridiculous.

It wasn't. One entire line of the little bastards plagued the area for decades. It was only the efforts of Gym Leaders like Koga that they didn't do this more often.

"That don't saprise me." Lara said. "Where is the fackin' thing? I hope it's dead."

"She's at Pallet Town. getting the shadow beaten out of her, I hope," he answered, making Lara's eyes widen.

"Dario, ya fackin' idiot, get on the horn to Praf Oak! He's got a Shadow on his hands!" Lara screamed at the birdkeeper.

The kid didn't know what he did.

* * *

**Pallet Town - Oak Ranch - 1327 Hours Local Time**

* * *

Quilava Double-Kicked the hated Jigglypuff in the face, revenge for all the times the bitch put her, Ash and everyone else to sleep and drawing on their faces echoed in the aggressive look on her face.

The family was showing no mercy, no respite, no fear as they attacked the puffball.

Some for revenge: Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Totodile and Noctowl were part of this group, furious and vengeful.

Others for the sake of training: Scraggy, Krokorok and Charmeleon cared little for the sleeping sessions, only for the off-chance a Shadow Pokemon would help them evolve.

"Scrag!" '_Get down, ye little bastard!_' Scraggy yelled as he Pounded the damn thing repeatedly. "Scraggy!" '_I'll evolve inta a damned Scrafty even if it kills meh!_'

"Char?" '_Since when did he have a Southern Galaran accent?_' Charmeleon said as he torched the Shadow puff.

"Tran!" '_Since last week: he alternates!_' Tranquill said as she pecked at the thing.

"BITE!" Gabite cried as he chomped on the Jigglypuff, growling before it escaped, "BITE!" '_Get back here! I will be a Gible again!_'

Jigglypuff floated away, landing before being smothered in slime.

Or rather, muck.

Living Muk, in this case.

"Muuuuuuuuuuk." '_I've got her. You guys take a rest,_' Muk said as Jigglypuff tried getting out by any and all means necessary.

After fifteen minutes, the puff was exhausted and Muk wasn't letting in any fresh air, so he was just waiting for the Balloon Pokemon to fall unconscious.

And once he moved off, she was, the shadowy aura… gone.

"Gab?" '_Is it dead?_' Gabite asked. "Bite!" '_If it isn't, I'm gonna chomp until it is!_'

"Char." '_No. if anything… I'd say it's back to normal,_' Charmeleon said, confused as hell.

Didn't Professor Oak say Shadow Pokemon couldn't be purified now that that village with all the old people was gone?

* * *

**Near the Laramie Ranch - 1438 Hours Local Time**

* * *

Lara could not believe this kid's skill in calming Pokemon.

The Tauros herd she was struggling to keep from rampaging? A few soft pats and kind words and they followed his lead.

"Hope yure not plannin' on takin' ove mah ranch, Ketchum!" Lara joked. Ash gave her a dirty look.

"I'm gonna be forced into something soon enough." Ash said morosely. Lara's smile dropped somewhat.

"Like wha?" she asked.

"Kingship." he answered. "I touch one staff and suddenly people expect me to bring Rota to glory as their king."

Lara blinked in confusion, thinking about some recording she heard in Fuschia last week.

"Aw, hell. You're the new prince?" she asked. "Damn. Sucks to be ya, boy. Ever since the last king was killed durin' the Cipher War, they've been all kinds'a panicky."

Ash lowered his head, then looked at the girls he was with. Misty and Anabel, he said.

Misty would be fine: those eardrums would need heal pulses to repair, but she would be fine in a couple weeks.

Anabel was another story. Her heart was stopped and you don't just do that for a minute and a half. The body had to get used to being… well, ALIVE again with fevers and resorting nerve signals and all that.

This wasn't Lara's first rodeo with that, if you know what she means.

"Well, they're gonna need to rest for a whil' and it's too fa to Fuchsia for Anabel." Lara said, smiling again. "Y'all can stay at the Ranch!"

Ash shook his head nervously. "I can't: I'm doing the league challenge-"

"Pfft. The League ain't for anudder five months!" Lara said, waving it off. "You'd be lazin' about after gettin' those eight badges anyways! The other 10 ain't worth yur time. Stay at the ranch fa now. Besides, I could use a new farmhand, if ya don't mind getting yur royal hands dirty!" Lara laughed at that bad joke.

"Better then running a country." Ash said, Lara staring at him in confusion.

Most people would kill to be royalty. After the Cypher War, a lot of people DID. Case in point, Kalos.

Ash treated it worse then anything.

'Weird kid.' Lara said.

* * *

**Indigo Plateau - Pokemon League Headquarters - 1645 hours local time - Day 42**

* * *

Lance did not want to do this.

But Delia being on the warpath, the incident at the Cycling Road and finding dozens of Rockets, dead and alive, at Celedon's outskirts and inside the city itself were damning.

"I call this meeting to order." Lance said to the Gym Leaders in the room, the Yas/Kas idiots as always absent.

Six of the eight major Gym Leaders and all of the Elite Four were in the room as well, the only two exceptions being Sabrina and the main reason this meeting was even being called in the first place.

Erika Sakura was being charged with negligence and incompetence. She would be called to face these charges in a few minutes.

They were damning. And Giovanni even suggested she was working with Team Rocket.

Lance hoped not: Delia was looking for anything remotely linked to Team Rocket and there was no stopping her if there WAS a link.

Though why would Giovanni suggest something like that?

"The evidence in Erika's case is not exactly flattering." Lance said solemnly. "She has neglected the outskirts of Celadon and has allowed Team Rocket to fester in the city. Investigations have already found five city officials being Team Rocket members."

"We don't want the days of Madam Boss back," Giovanni said, his eyes closed. "Random violence in the streets, open warfare… We are on the cusp of unifying Kanto. We don't need this."

"I agree with Giovanni. For once," Koga of Fushia said, coughing into his hand. "Conflict will only weaken the League's position."

"Man of few words as always." Daisy Waterflower said as she looked at Surge. "He ever speak more than ten words at once?"

"He's a fuckin' ninja. What do you expect?" Surge replied.

Lance picked up a gavel and hammered it down twice to restore order.

"Now, I realize-" he started before the door opened, revealing one of the two missing gym leaders.

The first was Sabrina, as everyone instinctually flinched at her arrival… but as they spotted her, they noticed Sabrina was very… _different_. Gone was her otherwise dreary, dark and outright… 'evil' demeanor, as well as the dark clothes that accompanied her… no instead, she was wearing a pair of white pants, a black belt and a short purplish-pink tank top. But most shocking of all… was the smile.

The only time they had ever seen _Sabrina _smile was when something evil she's done had happened 'according to plan'. No, this smile… was legitimate, innocent happiness. Like a teenager going to the shopping mall, or looking at new cuddly pets.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I had to check in with Gaffery as to whether or not I was allowed to come." she said, her tone just...disturbing everyone. It was _joyous _and _happy_ \- not conceiving and mocking.

Lance and the rest of the Elite Four were well aware of what happened. The rest? Not so much.

"What the hell is with you?" Surge asked, making the sign of Giratina with his hands, a traditional ward against psychics.

Sabrina tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean, Surge?" She asked. "Did… I do something wrong or something?"

"You're… well." Daisy started. "HAPPY! You're NEVER happy! You're creepy most of the time!"

Lance sighed as he knew he would have to tell them eventually. Now was as good as ever.

"During Sabrina's… last gym battle…" he started before Lorelei took over.

"Remember the storm a week ago?" she deadpanned.

"Kinda hard not to notice," Brock said, chuckling before looking at Sabrina. "Wait, THAT WAS HER?!"

"Yes," Lance said, eyebrow twitching. "Apparently, Ash Ketchum-"

"Why am I not surprised?" Brock, Daisy and Surge all said at once. Lance was two seconds from SCREAMING.

"There was a personality in Sabrina's head controlling her. Somehow, Ketchum purged it." Agatha said, taking over. "That same thing killed a Hypno not a few hours later. And I thought I was the bane of Psychics! The boy's taking my place without trying!"

Sabrina shrank a little. "They did say something about that," she muttered. "But Dad said I was ok and Grandma said something about an incident when he was younger, so…" Sabrina shrugged.

Giovanni looked at Sabrina, then at Lance. "I thought-" he started.

"Long story, but Ash Ketchum is her father." Lance said, sliding a file over to the top gym leader.

Daisy looked at the file "Aww, that's sweet…" she muttered, "I mean, weird and all but… still kinda sweet…"

Giovanni started sweating bullets. Everyone in the room knew WHY: Delia was his sister, Ash was his nephew and that made the (somewhat unstable) powerful psychic his technical grandniece. And Giovanni was just barely entering his fifties.

Double-whammy.

"Now, as for Erika-" he started before the door opened, the woman in question coming in.

"My apologies for being tardy." Erika said, not wearing any makeup, exposing deep, dark bags under her eyes. "I had to sell the shop to one of my trainers AND do enough paperwork to murder a small nation."

Lance opened his mouth to talk, but remained silent for a second. "You… sold the shop?" he finally said.

"Yes. My recent challenger forced me to reconsider my priorities," Erika said. "And I am seeing my obsession with funding the league via perfume sales was detrimental to the safety of Celadon." with that, she snapped her fingers, a rental Abra dumping a MASSIVE pile of reports in front of her before teleporting off.

"Dozens of Rocket agents, five city officials being plants…" Erika said, shaking her head. "If there was someone capable of taking over my position, I'd resign in shame!"

Agatha chuckled darkly. "We _were_ considering it." the crone said. "But fortunately for you-"

"Your loyalty to the league is without question, dear." came a surprise voice as Professor Samual Oak came in, smiling somewhat, if missing his coat.

"Master Samuel!" Lance and Lorelei said at the same time. "What are you doing here?" Lance asked his mentor.

"My latest and most promising charge just dumped a Shadow Jigglypuff on my lap." Oak said, everyone staring at him in worry. "Figuratively speaking. I am not sure if you heard of Ash Ke-"

"YES!" Brock, Daisy, Surge and Erika said simultaneously.

"Oh! That's my daddy!" Sabrina beamed happily.

Oak stared at Sabrina for a moment. "Right, Gaffery told me about that," he muttered. "You may be surprised to learn something about that Shadow Jigglypuff."

"That it's the bane of my existence?" Lance deadpanned, as it was not only a Shadow Pokemon, but a fairy-type.

"No. That it stopped being a Shadow Pokemon after waking up," the professor said, getting the attention of everyone in the room.

Except Sabrina. "What's so special about that?" she asked, tilting her head cluelessly.

Lance couldn't take it and screamed.

* * *

**RMS _Aquitania_ \- 1859 hours local time - Day 46**

* * *

The coast of Sinnoh was massive, with rocky shoals and reefs that made getting close to the shore impossible and made the journey to Kanto much longer as the reefs extended for thousands of kilometers, only stopping at Cinnabar Island.

Rockruff knew none of this. Even if he did, he wouldn't care.

It was time, as he stood at the forepeak of the ship, staring at the setting sun.

He couldn't waste time any longer. He howled, getting the attention of his fellow teammates, Noibat, Froakie and Goomy being the first to find out as they got to the forecastle, just in time for the main event as he began to glow.

"Goomy?!" '_Oh, COME ON! HE evolves and I don't?!_' Goomy yelled as the dog began to grow, becoming larger, wilder and no longer a puppy.

When he was done, he was a wolf with orange fur, the color of the setting sun.

"Roc!" '_Finally!_' Lycanroc barked as he noticed his form. "Lycan!" '_Back to normal!_'

Goomy screamed as he attacked the Wolf Pokemon angrily. Of course, this was physical, so he wasn't hurting Lycanroc.

But his fur was getting slimy. And Lycanroc HATED getting his fur dirty.

It ended poorly.

* * *

Half an hour later, Lycanroc had a black eye and bruised pride while Goomy was unharmed.

"Well, I've never seen one of you before." Serena said as she washed Lycanroc's fur, cleaning off Goomy's slime.

"Lycanroc." Grace said, somewhat disgusted. "Alolan rock-type. One of my suitors had one. Damn thing was constantly humping my leg."

Everyone, including Lycanroc himself, looked at Grace. The wolf then said it best.

"Ly." '_Nope._' he whined.

"Bad news is, we can't keep him in here." Grace said, though she sounded pleased. "He's too big. Goomy and Rowlet, sure, they're tiny. Him? Too big."

"Kick him out, it ends poorly." Serena threatened, her more violent self surfacing. Even Grace knew better then to piss her off.

"Good news is, we're in range of the Nihon Pokemon Transfer Link Network." she quickly said. "You can send him as an early wedding present!"

That made Serena blush and smile happily.

The squee made Rowlet wake up, yawning. "Rowl?" '_Are we in Kanto yet?_' he asked.

Goomy looked at Litten. "Goo?" '_He always like this?_' he asked.

"Litten." '_All the time._' the cat answered, sighing.

* * *

"Is there anything he can't do?" Kyril Pernon asked as he looked at the file Rin handed him. "End Team Cipher before they begin? Restore the world to what it once was? Make me the perfect coffee?"

"There is no such thing as perfection, Kyril." Rin deadpanned. "But this does indicate a disturbing trend. Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova. He's only missing Pokemon from Kalos and Alola at this point."

"What about Galar?" Kyril asked, confused.

"What ABOUT Galar?" Rin repeated sarcastically.

Good point. Galar was a smog-filled wasteland half the time. Any unique Pokemon in that place were endangered or extinct.

"And speaking of those two regions… oh look, almost ten of them in the care of the young woman he's about to marry!" Rin said, trying to drive the point through. "We have to curb this. Rota's influential enough with them having direct relations with the Lucario Kingdom, who are literally the only thing keeping the plague that is Shadow Pokemon reasonably in check. We don't need their crown prince charming the entire country into reunification."

"You're overreacting." Kyril replied, waving it off.

"Oh, yeah? What's he done? Other than ruin multiple Team Rocket operations, brainwash Sabrina Natsume, who would make your power armor into a prison before psionically crushing you like a tin can, into thinking she's his daughter and let's not forget what influence he would have if people found out who his father was." Rin stated, naming everything they knew he was involved in.

"…Point taken," Kyril said. "But he might not want to do that."

"You want to take that chance?" his girlfriend retorted.

"I'll meet him when we get to Kanto," the businessman replied, adjusting his tie. "Best way to measure a man's worth isn't from personnel reports. It's face-to-face."

* * *

Serena sat at the desk in the ship's Pokemon Center, looking through the Kanto Trainer Registry for one person.

Ash was becoming harder and harder to find every day and even on a computer screen, it wasn't easy.

Lycanroc needed to go. As did Fletchling: that bird was getting relentless in training. For that, she needed one important thing: Ash's trainer ID number.

They insisted to be caught by Ash and no one else. Well, assign a trainer ID code to a Pokeball and even if you're not that person, the Pokemon is caught by that person.

Though she did not know it, that was how Brock caught that Tauros for Ash in the other timeline. Some things just don't change.

Problem was, was Ash Ketchum the name, or was it Ketchum, Ash?

While she was looking, Froakie and Noibat were looking at the land outside the windows.

"Froak." '_Sinnoh. Arceus' Throne and the place we must go to end this madness,_' Froakie said.

"Noibat." '_That crazy man Cyrus is there. We gotta deal with him now,_' Noibat said, getting ready to fly to the mainland before Froakie put a webbed hand on his shoulder.

"Froak." '_We are not strong enough. And even if we were, we are only two against thousands of Team Galactic Grunts, Admins and the psychopath himself,_' Froakie said. "Kie." '_We will wait until we are ready. And if I know Pikachu, he's on the warpath in that regard._'

* * *

**Laramie Ranch - 1347 hours local time - Day 48**

* * *

Misty groaned as she rubbed her head "Why…" she muttered. "Why… does everything… hurt…?"

Anabel simply groaned as well, lying face-first in the ground, shivering as though she was cold but sweating so much it was clear she wasn't.

"Bliss." '_Poor dears._' said a Blissey as she used Heal Pulse on Misty, resisting the urge to do so for Anabel. That would only make it worse.

She had to heal naturally. It went against her instincts, which was to heal and help.

The only reason Pokemon even survived in the wild were the Chansey line: they weren't as rare as people would think. They just hid away VERY carefully, healing the injured. They were impossible to corrupt into Shadow Pokemon by natural means.

Cipher just used _unnatural_ ones for that one Shadow Chansey.

A beep from the Pokemon Transfer Link Network teleporter caught Blissey's attention as two pokeballs appeared in the tray.

* * *

Ash rubbed his check as he felt the hair growing out of his face.

In the old timeline, Pikachu had zapped the ability to grow facial hair out of him.

Thaty or whatever nonsense was used to bring him back to life back on New Island did it. He didn't know, he didn't care.

All he DID know was he had a beard, he wanted it gone.

And all he had was that single-edged razor he 'borrowed', a mirror and a bar of soap.

"This is a recipe for disaster." Ash muttered.

He wondered if this was the reason so many people forwent shaving throughout history until better razors were made: the risk of accidentally slitting their own throat outweighed the removal of annoying facial hair.

Well, he wanted it gone, so he slid the soap into the water and began lathering it up, putting the substance on the beard and flicking open the potentially lethal tool.

"Get it over with." he muttered as he began sliding the implement over his skin, the hair falling off. His inexperience resulted in a cut, blood leaking into the wash basin he was using.

That got an angry howl out of something as it slammed into the bathroom door, trying to bash it down.

A familiar howl at that.

"There is no way." Ash said as he finished getting rid of the hair on the left side of his face, then opening the door.

He was bowled over by a wolf.

"Roc!" '_ASH!_' Lyranroc said, laying on top of his trainer and licking his face. Or he was until he tasted the soap.

"LYC!" '_Blah! What the hell?!_' Lycanroc barked as he tried to get the taste off his tongue.

"I was shaving, Lycanroc." Ash said as he got up, Lycanroc having trashed about in his attempt to remove the soap. "Timeline got reset, remember?"

"Roc!" '_That doesn't excuse it!_' Lycanroc barked as he finally got the soap out. "Lycanroc!" '_I'm finally back!_'

"Welcome back. How'd you get here?" Ash asked, confused as he began washing his face again in preparation to remove the hair. "Kanto doesn't have a Rockruff population."

"Lycan!" '_Your mate Serena sent me!_' the wolf said knowing Ash couldn't understand him.

Ash paused mid lather.

"Serena?" he asked, Lycanroc blinking. "She's in Kalos. How does Serena factor into it?

"Roc?" '_That sounded-_' Lycanroc started.

"Ling." '_Like he understood?_' chirped a familiar red bird as she flew in, landing on the dog's head. "Fletch." '_Pikachu told me while you rushed off._'

"Ok, Fletchling, I can believe," Ash said as he looked at the robin on the Dusk Lycanroc's head. "She's from Kalos. You're not."

"Fletch." '_A long story involving that bitch Hunter J,_' Fletchling chirped, Ash's rage flaring at the mere mention of that name.

Needless to say, it took another hour before Ash could finish shaving.

* * *

6 days later

* * *

A Ponyta walked past Ash as he mused on how his Alola and Kalos teams ended up together while washing clothing given to him by Lara.

She was giggling for some reason when he did.

"Well, at least I'm getting something done." he muttered as he ran the articles in question through their paces, handwashing them.

Pikachu cackled in the distance at some in-joke.

Ash ignored him, even as the Ponyta circled around him, bumping his muzzle into the unwitting Crown Prince.

Then he reached in to pull out something… yellow. And all too familiar.

"I am going to murder her." Ash ground out, realizing he was holding Misty's tanktop. Lara must have given him their clothes to wash while they recovered. Anabel's outfit was now clearly visible in the soapy murk.

Pikachu's laughing only got worse.

"Just hang them up." Ash said tersely as he continued his work, ignoring everything except the job.

Though a part of his mind giggled perversely at the idea of more guttural desires.

That part promptly took the mental equivalent of a Tsar Bomba to the face.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Ash was hanging them up to dry.

'_When I'm done, Lara is going to REGRET this._' he thought before Natu landed on his head, nesting on his hatless self.

"Natu." '_Pervert,_' she said. Ash had enough of that.

"I am not." he growled out, as dealing with his own mind was bad enough. He didn't need Natu accusing him of it.

"Natu!" '_Not YOU, you idiot,_' she retorted, pointing in the direction of the fence, in the tall grass.

Ash looked himself, focusing on something…

A person? Ash struggled to remember who it was. The black hair and ponytail… Oh.

'_Great. Dario. Cheating bastard isn't just a cheating bastard, he's a damned pervert, too,_' he thought angrily. Well, for once, he was going to indulge his dark side.

"Natu?" he asked.

"Natu!" '_On it,_' she squawked, using psychic to begin lifting the idiot up.

"What the fuck?!" he screamed before Natu sent him flying into a building at high speed, crashing through a weak wood panel and knocking him out.

"Natu." '_Sic semper perverts,_' Natu said smugly as she relaxed on Ash's head. "Natu?" '_Enjoying your work?_'

"Hypocrite." Ash muttered as he continued hanging up his traveling companions' clothing.

"Natu." '_You're actively avoiding perversion. You get a pass period,_' Natu said. "Naaaaaaaaaatu…" '_That and you and Anabel would make a very cute couple…_'

Ash's resulting scream would later be credited to waking up Erika as she was nodding off in the middle of the Celadon Game Corner raid.

* * *

**Day 60 - 0547 hours local time**

* * *

Fletchling pecked Ash in the forehead, making Natu, who was perching on the head of the bed, glare at her.

"Natu!" '_No pecking my nest!_' she squacked.

"Fletch!" '_I gotta wake him up!_' Fletchling chirped.

"I'm awake." Ash said as his head rose up. He was lucky he went to Alola or else he would have been driven mad by lack of changing scenery for the last two weeks.

As it was, he was tempted to just go to Fuchsia, get the badge and come back.

"Ash! Get yer ass up!" Lara called from outside.

Ash got to his feet, only half-dressed.

Then a knife hit the windowsill. Ash was not in the mood for this, so he grabbed the knife and threw it back without looking.

"I would say that was sloppy, but you nearly hit me." said a man Ash wasn't expecting to see for a few more days as he looked down at the ground from his second-story vantage.

A kunai was VERY close to the foot of Koga, Gym leader of Fuchsia City.

"Impressive. You must be Ash Ketchum," he said.

"Where's Lara," Ash demanded as he reached for the pack with the handgun on the dresser.

"Do not bother," came a female voice from behind as she put a knife to his throat. Ash sighed before pressing it against his skin, making the attacker forced to withdraw it, making her vulnerable to counterattack as Ash elbowed her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her.

She coughed before hearing the clicking of a hammer, Ash pointing the stolen Rocket admin gun at her head.

"Where is Lara?" he demanded before hearing a cough at the window, looking to see Koga kneeling on thr windowsill.

"Put that thing away, boy. The girl is fine," Koga said, Ash obeying reluctantly as the gym leader came inside and approached the girl. "Janine, you were careless. You didn't restrain him."

"My apologies, father," the girl, Janine, said as she recovered, coughing briefly. "I did not expect him to do that."

Koga hmmed, coughing into his hand. "Reflect on your failure, my daughter," he said, Ash double-taking at the two.

Daughter?! Since when did Koga have a kid?!

"Yes, father," she said, standing up, eyes on the floor before Koga approached, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"This has no bearing on my love for you, child. The ninja is disappointed." he said, a faint smile on his face. "The father is only happy his child is alive," with that, the ninja girl brightened up as Koga looked at Ash. "You would have shot her."

"For all I knew, you were members of Team Rocket." Ash said, putting the weapon away after locking the safety. "This isn't the first time they've tried to kill me and I still want to know what happened to Lara and the others."

"The Ranch owner is making her rounds and your friends are resting." Janine said before grimacing. "The perverted birdkeeper is in a pile of manure."

Ash could tell they were going to get along SWIMMINGLY.

"Regardless, the reason we are here is two-fold." Koga said. "One, to ensure the security of the Ranch. We are this place's guardians and we have been lax in our duties."

Ash looked at his pants, silently asking for them as he didn't want to get close to Janine again. The ninja girl picked them up and tossed them over, the girl surprised at something. What, Ash didn't know and it didn't matter.

"And the other?" he asked as he got the pants on. Koga stared at the trainer intensely.

"To see if you are worthy."

Ash had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Entry 27: Laramie Ranch and the Safari Zone

Laramie Ranch, run by the Laramie family since the founding of the URN, is the main source of specialized riding Pokemon in Kanto and Johto, specializing in the rearing of Ponyta, Rapidash and Tauros, with contracts going out to all regions, including a shipment to the Alola Region.

What is unique is their relationship with the Safari Zone of Kanto. They often make pickups with the Pokemon of the area, removing invasive species that are not supposed to be there, including Arbok and Seviper.

Team Rocket has attempted to buy the ranch multiple times. Koga has killed anyone trying before they even reach the ranch fence.

* * *

Entry 28: Fuschia Ninja Clan

Having immigrated (supposedly) from Ransei over 900 years ago, the Fushcia Ninja Clan took over the city in BS789 and has held it in their grip to this day, their loyalties shifting from master to master as time goes on.

During the Cipher war, Anzu, grandmother of Koga and Master of Fuschia, was allied with the Cipher forces until assassinated by her son Kyo when he pledged himself to Samuel Oak. Koga has maintained that bond of fealty, loyal first to Oak, then his student Lance.

With Koga slowly dying as a result of long-term poisoning, his daughter Janine is set to take his place as clan head. No one knows where her loyalties will lay.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: (Gibles run around to Run Run Rottytops: StringStorm Version) Timeskips. Sometimes, they're a necessary evil.**

**117Jorn: When done right, a Timeskip can work wonders for a story. Gundam AGE did them fairly well. **

**Ron the True Fan: Don't remind me. And now to answer the question everyone is thinking: 'What the fuck happened to Anabel? Surely she could just get up and go, right?'. Think again: we had to do research for that. For anyone suffering cardiac arrest and effectively being dead for more than a minute, you have to go through a lengthy recovery time. This is a fic where reality ensues quite a bit. You get thunder punched in the heart? You're dead. No ifs, ands or buts. Resuscitation is possible, but we all know the success rate of that. Ash and Anabel got lucky.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, the cartoons kinda run on anime logic. Electric attack? You're twitching on the floor afterward, otherwise just fine. Fire? You're covered in soot, coughing up smoke clouds. Real life people aren't quite that durable.**

**Ron the True Fan: Ash breaks those rules to a point. But even he's not exempt. See you next time.**

**Ja Ne!**


	20. Chapter 19: Racing, Ninja and Safari

**Ron the True Fan: (Pokes head out) He's gone, right?**

**Takeshi Yamato: Who? If you're talking about Thor-**

**Thor: (Reading a book on Electric-Types) I see… I see… very interesting…**

**Ron the True Fan: No! Something… silent. It's unnatural.**

**(Silent CHOMP!)**

**Takeshi Yamato: (Stares at Gible in Ninja clothing) Ninja Gible. …OK, did Kirby pass on his power-copying abilities or something?!**

**?: Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~!**

**Takeshi: (Pales) Oh fuck no.**

**Ron the True Fan: RUN!**

* * *

**Laramie Ranch - 1021 hours local time - Day 60 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

Lara limped into the room where Misty and Anabel were staying, the psychic having not fully recovered but no longer needing heavy amounts of medication and not shaking as much.

Lara, on the other hand, had a broken leg and was not entirely sure how it happened. All she remembered was a rock slide on the south end of the ranch and she woke up an hour later, taking nearly as much time to crawl, then limp, to the ranch.

More embarrassing was the fact that Koga was supposed to be here already.

"You are late."

Lara jumped, falling onto the bed Misty was using to sleep on and startling the girl awake, the rancher screaming as she felt the broken bones twist.

Fortunately, Koga was not an uncaring bastard and helped her to another cot. "I didn't know you had broken your leg." he said, almost making an aplogy.

He was a ninja: in his line of work, incompetence was death. No second chances, no apologies. It was engrained.

"Rock slide." she ground out, Misty still thrashing before falling on the floor. "Took me an hour to get back. Morphine, please."

Koga looked for a medical kit, quickly finding the white metal box before walking over to it and recovering the medication in question. "I would recommend you use this sparingly." he said as he gave it to her, Lara taking it as well as a needle before getting the lowest dose needed to merely numb the pain.

"I'm ain't an idiot, Koga: I ain't becomin' a morphine addict." she said before injecting herself with the opidoid, the effect becoming apparent in moments as the pain numbed.

"Indeed. I presume you will not be attending the race this afternoon, then." Koga said before Misty got up, moaning and focusing her eyes.

"Uncle Koga?" she asked loudly.

"Do not yell, Misty." Koga said, coughing into his hand, looking at the results and frowning. "It is unbecoming of the relative of a shinobi."

Misty pointed at her ears, using sign language used mostly by the Fuchsia Clan to communicate her 'problem'.

Crudely: she didn't have it drilled into her head. A shame her mother didn't bother to do so. Fortunately, Koga could get the general idea.

"Your eardrums were burst?" he questioned before calmly signing back: 'My apologies. I was unaware you were involved in the debacle last month'.

Misty's crude signing in return to Koga's fluid response was equal to a shrug and 'I'm getting better'.

"You two know each other?" Lara asked somewhat dopily, the morphine dose higher then she thought.

"Her mother was my sister. She left the clan to become a regular trainer." he said tersely. That would have left her an exile in the old days. Koga told the old ways to go fuck themselves: she was family.

"Oh." Lara said dumbly before noticing someone missing. "Where's Janine?"

"Testing someone." Koga answered vaguely.

* * *

Janine was moderately impressed. Not two months into his journey and the boy that became the Crown Prince of Rota was both a skilled trainer and a leader. His ability to calm even the most angry Tauros down proved that.

His skills in combat, however, were… lacking. How he survived Mt Moon, the attack on the Pokemon Tech facility and the attempted sinking of the _Olympic_ were down to simple luck. She disapproved of relying too much on luck.

And contrary to popular belief, you did not 'make' your own luck: the universe cared little for your wants. Random chance was always just that.

Case in point as Ash was on the ground, covered in dirt. "Ow." he muttered as he got up. "You fight dirty."

"The first rule of the ninja, and of war for that matter, is to never play fair." she retorted. "Stack the odds in your favor, then strike to end it quickly and efficently."

"I don't fight that way." Ash said, dusting himself off. "I believe in a fair fight, where both sides don't bother with dirty tricks just to win."

"The real world does not operate that way, Prince." she said, making him scowl. "There is always a darker side. Your Pikachu is a shadow Pokemon. If the world was the way you wanted, you would be forced to never use him. Your hypocrisy is showing."

"Do not call me that." Ash snapped, Janine's face not betraying how pleased she was that she got that reaction out of him. "Pikachu didn't ask to be a Shadow Pokemon. I didn't ask for your opinion on him. I don't even know why you're wanting to fight me!"

"Father told you: you must prove yourself worthy," Janine answered. "You have the endurance and the drive. You clearly have the skill to command and improvise. What my father wants to know is simple: can you command while someone else is trying to kill you?"

Ash glared at her and muttered something about hate and… time? What did time have to do with this?

"Janine!" called her father as he approached, looking ill as he always did in recent days. She turned and bowed in respect.

"Father," she answered, bowing at the waist.

"Do not enforce our standards on him," he said before coughing madly, blood leaking from his mouth. She moved to help him, but a raised hand stopped him.

That did not stop the boy from rushing over.

The purplette glared at him. No respect, no deference. And this was to be the king of the nation that the Fuchsia Clans had served until the Cipher War cut the line?

'_No wonder grandmother bowed to the invaders,_' she thought with disdain before Ash helped her father stay upright.

"My thanks," he said before wiping his mouth of that which was his life. "As I was saying. Do not force our standards on him. You have trained since you were a child in our arts."

"You said I was to test him." she said, somewhat insolently before looking away in shame.

"To see who he was," Koga said as he looked at the boy, not a year younger than she was. "I have heard of your deeds, Ketchum." Ash backed off, clearly getting ready for a fight. "Make no mistake: you made mistakes. Great ones. Many of the Clefairy of Mount Moon are dead as a result of your actions and it will take generations for them to return."

Ash did not bow his head in shame, but it was clear it weighed on him. His eyes told everything.

"Your mistakes, however, are outweighed by your intent," her father continued. "You seek to eliminate evil in all courses without going to their base level. Noble. And worthy."

Janine did not like where this was going.

"Regardless. I have a task for you," Koga said. "The annual race set up by the Laramie family to show their support for Fushcia is in two days time. Lara is injured and cannot participate."

The boy glanced up at Koga. Typical. Seeking glory.

"You want me to race for her," Ash said, knowing what he was going to ask.

"Yes. If only to prevent that birdkeeper from joining the clan." her father spat. "He seeks wealth and glory."

"I don't need a prize," Ash said. "I'll do it."

The master of the clan seemed… pleased to Janine. "I did not doubt it," he said. "Go. You will need her Ponyta to enter: to race in one's name, they must use their Pokemon."

With that, Koga gestured to Ash to go, which he did.

Once out of earshot, Janine looked to her father. "I do not mean to be disrespectful-" she started.

"In my experience, that means little, Janine," Koga quipped, Janine waiting a moment before continuing.

"But is it wise to even let him try? A word from Lara and we can end that perverted lech in a moment." Janine finished. "We are shinobi and kunoichi. We do dark deeds all the time."

"It is unnecessary in this case," Koga answered. "And I have taken his measure. The boy has but one goal: to become a Pokemon Master. A lofty, but not unobtainable goal. To do so, he will forsake anything. And has forsaken many things. His travelling companions are women, yet even when I spoke to one, she said nothing about a romantic relationship."

Janine scoffed.

"It was your cousin Misty," Koga clarified, Janine's eyes almost ballooning.

"Misty? Given her condition, she would do anything for a constant presence in her life," she muttered. Her parents were dead, her sisters were out and about all the time and Pokemon just weren't enough, especially after that mind rape incident. Misty would do anything, even debase herself, to have a constant human presence in her life.

That Ash had done nothing but be her companion spoke volumes of his integrity. She was wrong.

"I stand corrected and chastised," she finally admitted, her father putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You merely stand corrected, my child," Koga said with a bare smile. "It takes years to hone the skills required to take a man's worth in a conversation," Koga coughed once more, Janine wanting to help, but not being able. "You do not have those skills yet."

Janine could hear the unsaid 'but you will' in his voice and allowed herself to smile.

* * *

**Just outside Laramie Ranch - 1547 hours local time - Day 61**

* * *

Janine watched as Ash mastered the art of horseback riding, a term that had been around long after the extinction of the non-Pokemon species in question.

But she was less focused on the boy.

No, the two idiots in black versions of the Team Rocket uniform watching Ash were her primary focus, along with their talking Meowth.

"Think the twerp's gonna give it up?" the woman named Jessie asked.

"Nope. If we learned anythin' from the brat, he's relentless." the Meowth said. "He wants to do somethin', he does it. Seriously, you seen how he treats those girls?"

The bluenette nodded as he passed the binoculars around to Jessie. "If it was me, I would have succumbed already. But he just… doesn't. He avoids it."

The woman's cheeks tinged red, Janine resisting the urge to scoff before noticing an Arbok slithering into her level of the tree.

The starters of the pair had evolved a few hours prior. Something of an event for their trainers.

"You know I could have killed them any time, yes?" Janine asked the snake, the cobra giving a somewhat nod. Good. "As long as they are not a threat, they can stay."

The snake nodded once more as Janine focused on Ash, whooping happily.

Something was off with the boy and she wanted to know what.

* * *

Lara smirked as Ash rode over, rubbing Ponyta's neck comfortingly.

"You know wha' yer doin', ash. You sure this is yer first time?" she asked as Ponyta sniffed her leg, whining about it.

Ash chuckled nervously. Saying he was from a future where he did this would not be a good thing. "Well, I did attend a camp where riding a Rhyhorn was a thing." he instead said. At least that was consistent between timelines.

"Wha' like Baroness Gabena?" she asked, making Ash blink.

"As in Grace Gabena?" he countered, getting a nod.

"Woman's a bit of a legend in ridin' circles," Lara said. "Obsessed with Rhyhorn Racin'. Wants her daughter to take up the mantle. Hit her head a few times, too."

'_Sounds like Grace,_' Ash snarked. "I met her." he said. "And her daughter. She's not the Rhyhorn type."

Lara beamed at that. "Awesome!" she cried. "Explains how Ponyta loves ya so much!"

"Pon." '_He's nice._' Ponyta said, though only he understood her. Ash just scratched behind her ear, the fire horse liking it.

"Good luck and giv' that pervert the boot for me!" Lara said before Ash rode off, intending to get one more lap of practice in before Ponyta needed to rest.

* * *

**Laramie Big P Course - 0847 hours local time - Day 62**

* * *

Misty was not happy, her hearing returned, but her ears being sensitive.

She was less happy when her mental self said Ash's first kiss was not hers, but some Kalosian girl.

And that did not make her happy. Sure, Ash was the nicest guy on the planet and didn't do anything with it, but it was the principle of the thing.

For Anabel's part, she was too groggy to think about romance. Or experienced enough to remotely consider it. Her Pokemon liked Ash, though and wanted to see them together.

She would like to know what it was like, having a boyfriend, but for now, human shield was good enough. Besides, she was nervous. Ash was going to be racing. The further he was from her, the more danger she was in from someone like Sabrina. Or… the person that took over her body.

Terms didn't matter. She just wanted him close.

* * *

Ash sat on Ponyta, determined to do one thing and one thing only: win.

Koga stood on a high vantage point as the other racers, including the pervert, Dario and his dodrio.

The ninja master watched as the race went on, Ash sidestepping Dario at every turn, predicting his movements.

The birdkeeper tried everything up to and including whipping the Dodrio he rode to get an edge. Koga disapproved: while he was known to be harsh when needed, but otherwise, he treated them with respect and care. Ash Ketchum was the same, telling Ponyta they could win.

It had results as he used Flare Blitz by accident. Ash didn't do things by halves and sometimes not even on purpose. This amused Koga greatly.

* * *

Janine huffed as the flaming horse shot past a number of competitors on what was normally just a 25 kilometer course.

Some years, there were obstacles on the roads: a food challenge, fake rocks, that sort of thing.

This year was plain and simple: pure endurance. The track had been lengthened to almost 40 kilometers in an attempt to wear out Pokemon in the extreme.

Sometimes, the best races were the simplest.

But Ash seemed to have accidentally pushed Ponyta's buttons, as he was moving at a speed most flying-types would be jealous of at low level. Unless you were a Swellow or Pidgeot, it was hard to get to half the speed of sound.

Dario's Dodrio was half that fast, even if he had a two kilometer lead and was using Agility to boost his speed.

And feeding the tri-headed bird special steroids to increase his speed on the straightaways. Well, win or lose, he was still pathetic enough to cheat.

Then came the flaming horse, which shot past them at speeds only seen in the air and when a Pokemon was… about to evolve.

"Interesting," she said as the flaming comet grew bigger. The Laramie girl was going to be pleased.

* * *

Such is the nature of Aura that a source of it will empower another if willing to give of oneself.

It was how Aaron of Rota gave his life to the Tree of Beginning. It was how Ash was revived on New Island in the old timeline, with all Pokemon understanding that was not supposed to be.

It was also, unwittingly, how Ponyta was running at nearly two-thirds the speed of sound and on the cusp of evolving.

Ash knew none of this, of course, as the glowing horse grew under him, slowing only to turn a corner. Ash's only goal was to win this, not think about how.

As soon as they hit another corner, they nearly flew off the course. Such was the issue of speed: you couldn't turn sharply and get away with it.

After that corner was nearly 3 kilometers of straight trackway, right to the finish.

Ash could hear Dario screaming obscenities at them from five turns and four kilometers back as Ponyta finally stopped glowing, now a Rapidash.

He patted Rapidash's neck, the horse breaking into a mad gallop towards the finish, crossing it… then Rapidash finally fell to his knees, panting in exhaustion.

Evolution gave you one hell of a boost, but once you were done, you were done for the day.

Unless you were Charmeleon and just too angry to lay down.

A few minutes later, Dario crossed the finish line, getting off his bird with the intent to accuse. Before he could even unhook himself from his left sterup, three darts hit his neck, making him fall unconscious before slamming into the ground side-first, pulling his Dodrio down with him, the bird squawking in surprise as he fell.

Janine then jumped from a tree, going into a roll before stopping and dusting herself off.

"I would recommend you test the Dodrio for drugs. I saw him feeding the bird during the race." she said to the judges in the stands, which included Lara.

"Thanks, Janine." she said before picking up the microphone and switching it on. "Well, without a doubt, the winner of the 189th Annual Big P Pokemon Race is Ash Ketchum!"

Ash waved shyly, especially when Misty, with her noise-dampening earmuffs started cheering and Anabel made a small wave.

"Na, as you know, Ash here's the Crown Prince of Rota. Though he ain't a fan o that, apparently." Lara said. "And he's waved off the grand prize of Clan membership. But I ain't sending him off empty-handed! That's not what we do!" The crowd cheered with Lara as she made her way to the ground, using a crutch to keep her weight off her bad leg as she carried a metal case, large enough to house anything from a bomb to a small bush of berries.

Ash had no idea what was in it. He just knew he didn't do it for a prize.

She opened the case, revealing a Pokemon egg with Ponyta's coloration. "A Ponyta egg from the Laramie Ranch! This way, he can rememba his victory here today!" she declared to the crowd's delight.

Ash chuckled before shaking his head. "Sorry, I've got enough Pokemon for now." he said, making the crowd react against him.

"Egg! Egg! Egg!" they cheered repeatedly.

Ash kept waving no. They cheered louder each time.

"Take the damned egg, boy," Koga said, sudden;y appearing behind Ash, startling him. "You'll be here all day and we don't have that time."

Lara shrugged as he looked to her, Ash sighing and reaching for the egg, making the crowd cheer loudly.

"Sweet Arceus, they're just like Galarian idiots." Koga muttered, making Ash wonder what was 'Galar?'.

Ash didn't have time to wonder long before being tackled by Misty in a hug that nearly spelt the end of the egg.

* * *

**Oak Ranch - 1559 hours local time**

* * *

The egg was safely in the Professor's care, making Bulbasaur happy. Misty nearly ended its' life before it began.

Now they had to deal with another problem, waiting outside.

"Puff!" '_Seriously, where am I?!_' cried the purified Jigglypuff as she looked around, wondering why she wasn't in Alola and surrounded by every Pokemon Ash had in Johto and Hoenn.

Kanto almost went without saying, but Charmeleon was fighting Lycanroc, so almost every Pokemon she ran into prior to returning to Kanto.

"Quilava." '_Welcome to the Oak Ranch. Those bruises on your face are the result of us beating the living shit out of you for putting us to sleep and drawing on our faces,_' the Volcano Pokemon said, making Jigglypuff touch her face.

"Jiggly!" '_You don't appreciate my singing! You fall asleep, so you deserve it!_' she snapped, pouting.

"Bulba." '_You use the move Sing EVERY TIME, moron,_' Bulbasaur said, not in the mood to be diplomatic. "Bulbasaur, Bulb." '_If you didn't know that move puts people to sleep, you shouldn't know it._'

Jigglypuff blinked. "Puff?" '_Wait, singing is an attack?_' she said. "Puff!" '_Prove it! I once sang to a Whismur and he didn't-_'

'Soundproof.' everyone said. Even Jigglypuff knew that ability.

"Puff." '_Crap. But I like to sing!_' she said.

"Dile!" '_Stop using the move and we'll see if you can._' Totdile said, not liking getting drawn on as much as everyone else.

Jigglypuff pouted before pondering. "Jigglypuff…" '_Wait, if I'm HERE and you're not beating the life out of me… Oh, NO,_' she said as she realized something.

"Bulba!" '_Welcome to Ash Ketchum's team. We work to improve ourselves and help our trainer realize his dream of being the very best he can be while he helps us be the best we can be,_' Bulbasaur said with an eyesmile. "Saur." '_We also save the world on a regular basis. I suggest getting used to it._'

Jigglypuff's scream coincided with her use of Hyper Voice.

* * *

**Fuschia City - 1629 hours Local Time**

* * *

Koga coughed madly, spitting up blood as they reached the outskirts of the City of Shinobi, as many called it.

Ash rushed to Koga's side to help, steadying him as he coughed, Janine huffing as he did what she wanted to do, but couldn't because her father forbade it except in the most dire situations.

"Worried for your badge, Ketchum?" she spat, worry for her father outweighed by annoyance.

"I don't care about the badge!" he said, surprising her and Anabel, Misty not hearing a word thanks to the earmuffs. "It can wait until Koga's better! He's more important right now!"

Janine once more stood corrected and ashamed. Her father gave her a look to stop.

"You may not get that chance, son," he said, shakily getting to his feet. "My health worsens every day. The doctors have claimed I will not last another month, two at most."

The look of shock on Ash's face was enough to get Misty to remove them and ask gently to have that repeated.

Her reaction was to latch to her maternal uncle and sob, Koga patting her back softly, blaming himself for the incident that made his niece a needy mess. After all, that Venomoth came from Fuschia.

Now he would die, knowing what happened was his fault.

* * *

**90 minutes later - en route to Safari Zone**

* * *

Misty and Anabel went to the gym with Koga, a Gengar covering for Ash's absence to make her feel better while the clan Chansey finished healing Misty's ears.

Janine forced Ash out, claiming he was not welcome until her father was ready for his battle and she wanted to know of him through Misty, who was apparently her cousin in this timeline.

The other ninja he knew from the other timeline, Aya, was just absent. Ash hoped she wasn't dead.

Regardless, he had a goal to work to in the Safari Zone.

Namely, his herd of steers.

But first, to deal with that grumpy old bastard at the gatehouse.

He never liked Kaiser. He liked to flash that revolver too much. Part of the reason he hated guns so much.

But rules were rules: check with the old man, THEN go steer hunting.

He knocked on the door, which was pulled open and Ash was forced to stare down the barrel of the revolver belonging to the old man.

"The fack you want?!" he yelled at Ash, who was not amused, but decided to be… diplomatic.

"Good afternoon, sir." Ash said, acting like the gun in his face didn't bother him. "I would like to enter the Safari Zone." Kaiser had ten seconds or else Pikachu would be zapping him into oblivion and Ash would be going in, getting his herd and leaving.

"You got clearance from Koga?" Kaiser snapped before holstering the gun, scowling in a way that reminded Ash of the Samurai. And not the overly nutty one from the old timeline: the one from this one before getting drilled (as in Bee) to death.

Ash provided a written notice from Janine, which was effectively as good as far as the old man was concerned, apparently.

"Fine. Go in there, get what you're getting and stay the fuck away from the Dratini!" he spat before slamming the door.

Ash raised an eyebrow before making his opinion on Kaiser known. "Pleasant man." he said, sarcasm dripping from his mouth like poison.

"Pikapi?" '_And you didn't want me shocking him into the middle of the next year why, Ash?_' his starter asked.

"Out of respect for LAST time." Ash said, remembering the old man that just wanted to protect the Dratini from poachers.

He had a goal: the Tauros. Nothing more.

Then his hat was lifted from his head by a hand attached to a tail before the tail-hand jumped down, revealing a violet-furred monkey.

"Ai!" '_It's about time, Ash!_' the Aipom said with a grin. "Aipom!" '_Where am I and why am I an Aipom again?_'

Trainer and starter said it as one. "Time travel."

"Aipom." '_That explains a lot, but not where I am,_' Aipom said before tossing Ash his hat.

"You're in the Safari Zone in Kanto, just outside Fuchsia." Ash answered. "Ball now or later? Sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get you back to Dawn."

"Aipom!" '_Ball me!_' the monkey said, Ash withdrawing a Safari Ball from a rack and linking it to his Pokedex, a small tray popping out to replicate the ball ad infinitum, just like the Master Ball.

He just kept the original at home at Pallet, sending it back with Lapras and frankly, was reserving it for Pokemon he NEEDED caught, like, say, the Creation Pokemon to prevent Cyrus' stupidity from ending ANOTHER timeline.

He tossed the ball, Aipom finally realizing something. "Ai-" '_Did you actually-_' she started before getting balled.

* * *

**30 minutes later**

* * *

Ash just waited for the earthquakes to start as he wandered the plains area of the Zone, waiting for the Tauros herd to appear, walking past a pool of water.

"Just a matter of time." Ash said, Pikachu walking beside him.

"Pikapi-kachu." '_We can't stay overnight, Ash. Kaiser seems more trigger-happy then last time,_' Pikachu said, walking beside his trainer for once.

"I know, Pikachu, but we can't just wander the place looking-" Ash started before something slammed into him and wrapped around him, dragging him into the pool.

His head was dunked underwater for a full minute before he managed to get his head above water.

"Dra!" '_New person!_' said a serpentine Pokemon with frills attached to the sides of the head with big black eyes and an adorable-looking muzzle. "Dra! Dra!" '_New friend!_'

"Pika!" '_Let go of my trainer!_' Pikachu said, the snake-like Pokemon looking at the mouse.

"Dratini?" '_But friend? I want to leave! I want to be with friend!_' the Dratini said, Wrapping around Ash tightly.

"Pikachu!" '_You're KILLING your 'new friend'!_' Pikachu retorted, Dratini looking at Ash before letting him go, Ash choking to get air back into him.

"Dra!" '_I don't see humans that often,_' the first dragon-type of the National Dex said. "Drati." '_And yours seems… nice. Like he'd help me with anything_.'

"Normally, I would, but the old man doesn't want me catching Dratini." Ash said, making the dragon look at him in shock. "Yes, I can understand you. And usually you ask a name before making a friend, Dratini."

"Dra!" '_Awesome!_' Dratini said. "Dra-Dra-Dra!" '_I've never seen a human that understands us!_'

Ash had no time for this. Rare or not, Dratini was not what he was after.

So he walked off, heading down the path before the grass parted ahead, revealing a bouvine head.

"Bro." '_Hello, Ash,_' the Tauros said, his chipped horn showing he was part of the herd.

"Thank Arceus." he muttered. "That's one. Might leading me back to the others, big guy?"

"Broo!" '_Sure. Though you're… bigger then I remember,_' the Tauros said.

"We met when I was ten. This body's 14, close to 15." Ash said, the Tauros looking confused. "Yes, I understood what you said. I really don't want to do this again."

"Bro." '_Alright. Moving on then,_' the Tauros said, leading Ash and Pikachu away, Dratini blinking as they walked off.

"Dra!" '_Wait for me!_' he cried, slithering after them.

* * *

**Outside Fuschia City - 2014 hours local time**

* * *

"Fuck this." Butch Kosaburō said as he and his partner/girlfriend Cassidy Yamato (a long story involving a Shadow Ho-oh, apparently) hid in a bush on the orders of Proton.

"You think?" Cassidy asked rheorically. "The boss ordered us to fuck RIGHT off from the Ketchum brat and his girlfriends. Where are we? Getting ready to attack where his girlfriends ARE."

"I don't think the Boss would mind us leaving after this," Butch said. "Shoot just to make noise?"

"Yeah, we're not gonna piss off the Boss just to make Proton happy," Cassidy said, hooking a thumb at the head of this operation: Admin Proton.

EX-Admin, once Giovanni heard about this.

As for them, they were getting on the first ship out of Kanto. Orre sounded nice. Nice and isolated.

No Team Rocket presence. …Or real life.

Proton cackled as he loaded a bazooka with a rocket and ordered the attack.

* * *

**Fuchsia Gym/Ninja Clan House - 2016 hours local time**

* * *

"What is your opinion on Ash Ketchum?" Janine asked the two after some time sitting awkwardly, tea slowly cooling on the table in front of them.

The question startled the girls, her cousin rubbing her cheek nervously. Janine frowned on something so… unprofessional.

Then again, Janine was trained since she was eight as a kunoichi. Social cues were never her strong suit.

"Well… he's nice." Misty started. "And before you ask, Janine, no, he's not a pervert. A lot of times I did something that would result in a stare, he flat out ignored."

Janine was amused by this. More than she could say about most men twice Ash's age.

"And you, Anabel?" she asked the psychic, whose hands shook somewhat. A result of having had her heart stopped for some time, she was told.

"W-Well… He saved me from an insane psychic." she said, Anabel nodding, thinking she went with him out of gratitude. "But he's done nothing but help. And he… I can't tell you."

"Why?" the kunoichi asked.

"He wants to help me be a better trainer, but all I use him for is a shield. He kills psychics." Anabel answered. Janine LIKED this. "He doesn't know how to train psychic-types. I'm nothing but baggage."

"Not true." Janine said, sipping her tea, making her look up. "I have reasons to believe Ash wants to help you become something greater. You simply need to grow out of your shell before he can help you."

Anabel shrunk somewhat at that.

"I am father's successor. I know what happened at Saffron Gym. It will take you a VERY long time to reach his level. But he would not have taken you along if he didn't believe you could be better." she said before looking up from her tea. "It will take time."

A hiss was heard from outside, Janine grabbing both women and getting them behind cover as a rocket slammed into the building.

* * *

**Safari Zone - same time**

* * *

Ash smiled sadly at the sight before him. 30 steers, all with their own unique little quirks.

"Broo!" '_He's finally come!_' one of the Tauros said, sounding exactly like the others.

"Bro." '_Took long enough._' another said before getting slammed by one of his herd mates.

"Broo." '_That's enough, boys,_' the leader of the herd said, approaching Ash. "Broo." '_Time travel?_'

"Celebi." Ash answered. "I won't hold it against you if-" The tauros shook his head, interrupting Ash.

"Brro!" '_We're going home! Just sic us on whatever needs stomping!_' the bull said.

Ash smiled before the Pokedex produced a Safari Ball. "Mind making it hard for me?" he asked, wanting a challenge for once when it came to capturing Pokemon in this timeline.

Easy captures were not fun. He wanted to have a hard time for once.

"Broo!" '_RUN, BOYS!_' the leader yelled, Ash wildly throwing Safari Balls like a pitcher.

He was one at one point.

* * *

**Oak Ranch - same time**

* * *

Oak's eyes widened in horror as balls dropped out of the teleporter, all with a Tauros in them.

"Bulba." '_Well, that's everyone,_' the ambassador said, walking out of the lab to see everyone fighting Gligar and Jigglypuff to keep them from disappearing into the far reaches of the Ranch.

Ash might actually NEED the bat this time.

* * *

**Back at the Zone**

* * *

Safari Balls littered the place, but all the Tauros were caught.

"Pika!" 'That's everyone except the Kalos and Alola guys! And they're with Serena!' Pikachu cheered as he looked at the debris. "Chu." '_Lots of balls, though,_'

"They'll probably teleport to the office or something. Let's get back to the gym." Ash said, waving it off.

"Dra!" '_Ball!_' cried a familiar Pokemon before they looked to see the Dratini. Tapping a Safari Ball.

The two couldn't even do anything as the Dratini captured himself and teleported to the Ranch, no doubt to give Oak a major heart attack.

"Should've facking known." said an ornery old man as Kaiser walked up behind them, cocking his revolver. "They're always after MY Dratini."

"Pika." '_I think we're clear to shoot back,_' Pikachu said, Ash instead picking up Pikachu and running.

"Get back here, you little shit!" Kaiser spat as he ran after Ash, firing his revolver at Ash, a Duduo catching a bullet as the old man fired wildly at the trainer.

"Pikpi!" '_Ash, will you fight back for once?!_' Pikachu demanded.

"I'm not stooping so low as to kill him!" Ash snapped back as a bullet shot past his head.

"Pika!" '_He isn't the grumpy protective man from the other timeline: he's an obsessive asshole that WANTS TO KILL US! Self-defense is a thing!_' Pikachu retorted.

Ash groaned as he hid behind a tree, pulling out his handgun, firing back, only aiming over Kaiser so the bullets wouldn't hit him.

"All the Dratini in this place are mine, boy!" Kaiser yelled before fire washed over his back and an egg smashed into his head, making him trip forward. Ash finally worked up his nerve and finally shot at Kaiser, hitting his knee, forcing him to fall into a deep pool.

Ash watched as the water rapidly foamed, obscuring the view of what was going on as the white bubbles turned to red until the foaming stopped, a Bacuslin surfacing briefly. Kaiser wasn't coming out of that.

"Merciful Arceus, what have I done?" Ash asked as he fell to his knees.

"Vul." '_You ended the life of a madman,_' said a small red fox. "Vulpix." '_He's been terrorizing us for decades._'

"Chansey." '_I haven't been able to show myself for years,_' said a form Ash knew, but was… wrong. Chansey were pink, not green. "Chan." '_A shiny like me would be in some trophy case or something!_'

Well, that explained the green. Still…

"Vulpix." '_You are not to blame,_' Vulpix said as she looked at the red-tinted pool. "Pix." '_The basculin killed him. You just made him fall in. Whether he survived or not was up to Arceus, not you._'

"Pikapi-kachi-pi!" '_If you want, you can tell Koga what happened, Ash. We need to get back to the gym!_' Pikachu said, zapping his trainer.

Ash nodded, not taking his eyes off the pool.

"Gotta get back to the gym. Right." he muttered, getting up and picking up Pikachu before running.

The Vulpix and Chansey looked at one another. "Chan?" '_I get the feeling he understands us,_' she said.

Vulpix looked at the debris of Ash's ball fest. "Vul." '_One way to find out,_' Vulpix said.

* * *

Entry 29: Corruption in Kanto

While corruption is punishable by lengthy and punishing prison sentences in Kanto, Team Rocket has encouraged its' growth to allow us deeper entry into positions of power.

An infamous example of corruption was Kaiser of the Safari Zone, recently killed during Proton's unauthorized attack on Fuchsia City, who, after further investigation, had killed over twenty trainers attempting to capture 'his' Dratini. A combination of obsessive-compulsive personality and being lost in the paperwork allowed him to retain his position. Team Rocket made it easier, as we use the Zone for higher level captures: Ariana's Honchkrow, for example, was captured there. Lance will be conducting a top-down investigation after-(file corrupted)

* * *

Entry 30: Pokemon desiring capture

While rarer and rarer in these dark days, Pokemon do not always resist capture.

Many sought out a trainer willing of their abilities or otherwise showing affection to them. Some do it out of a desire for safety. For example, recent reports indicate a Trapinch and Pineco having entered the custody of Ash Ketchum, having been caught without battle.

If this keeps up, those may be among the last. Team Rocket must not let this happen.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: I know. Kaiser, crazy? I took his personality from the Safari Zone episode and added madness to it. Ends at that. Now… Dratini.**

**117Jorn: Awww, he's so cute… *hears a plank of wood bend* ...but not as cute as our Ninja-Gible. **

**Ninja-Gible: (Stealth-CHOMP)**

**117Jorn: Flawless victory. *pets Ninja Gible***

**Ron the True Fan: Cute, but not the point. See, we use something called a planning doc to keep everything straight. We finished it _months_ before starting the first chapter of the fic and let me tell you something… that was when _Necrozma_ was being an annoyance, long before the _Sword and Shield_ anime was even a twinkle in the producers' eyes.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Do not talk about twinkling eyes. (Mutters about manipulative old bastards who hide behind high-ranking positions in schools)**

**Ron the True Fan: Not even going to PRETEND To know what the hell he's talking about.**

**117Jorn: I stopped trying.**

**Ron the True Fan: Anyway, the_ S&S_ Anime wasn't even a seed in their minds when we gave him a Dratini. Then, what happens? They not only give him a Dragonite, but a Gengar and a Riolu as of this chapter's completion. And that's not counting the ones Ash didn't get prior to the reset: Poipole and Melmetal. Also, he WILL be getting them. We just need to find an appropriate place to put them.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Very true. And, of course, Koga and Janine are here. Now, what exactly was Ash being tested about? Well, that's something you'll have to learn about later.**

**Ron the True Fan: On that note, in case anyone is wondering: YES, I know this has a _TV Tropes_ page. This was written when it was MADE. I'm not making edits to these chapters just to mention it.**

**Ja Ne!**


	21. Chapter 20: Fire and Poison

**Ron the True Fan: And from bad to worse. Before you ask, Ash isn't in the deepest of shit for what happened to Kaiser: he was well within his right to shoot the son of a bitch in the head, he just didn't want to. Thank Arceus for piranha Pokemon. (Basculin attempt to CHOMP!)**

**117Jorn: *Rolls eyes nonchalantly while reading, as the Basculin gets close for the CHOMP, but is kicked away by Ninja-Gible - before performing his own Stealth-CHOMP* My noggin is reserved for Gible and Natu's only. **

**Ron the True Fan: As for Proton and company, well, with two exceptions, I foresee naught but blood and pain. Butch and Cassidy just get sand and possible radiation poisoning.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah - because compared to Proton, those two are SMART. In the anime, they were a slightly-more-competent Jessie and James. That doesn't really mean anything when going up against _Ash Ketchum_, but it's there nonetheless.**

**Ron the True Fan: Still on my list of 'purge without mercy', but I'm throwing them a bone this time. I have PLANS for them, anyways…(does the TFS Hojo laugh) This one's a special double-update, as today happens to be my birthday and I feel like giving. Enjoy.  
**

* * *

**Near the Rock Tunnel - 2058 hours local time - Day 62 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

Belladonna Ketchum knew her mother got around, but this was insane. They were on the other side of Kanto, dealing with a new Rocket base dug into the side of Mt Kumo, where the infamously dark Rock Tunnel was.

"How the hell did they dig a base into a mountain made of dolerite?" she asked, as the entire region was made of the stuff.

"Pupitar, mostly." her mother answered. "Most of the angry Tyrannitar you see in the wild used to be Pupitar that Team Rocket ditched after they were done. They do NOT take abandonment kindly."

"Like Ash?" Belladonna asked, eyebrow raised. "You know he thinks Dad just left. He doesn't remember what happened."

"And I would like to _keep _it that way." Delia said sadly.

Belladonna couldn't blame her mother for that. She would like to forget too.

"He did give you all something." Delia continued as they approached. "Your hair, mostly."

"How is it Red got brown so dark it could be mistaken for black, me and Ash get dad's black hair and Yellow is blonde?" Belladonna asked rhetorically. She already knew the answer.

"I keep telling you: a random quirk of genetics." her mother said, giving her a dirty look. "Besides, you had Professor Oak run that DNA test. She's not your half-sister."

Belladonna had the shame to look away before the rock wall slid open, revealing a complicated door that was well hidden, something that wouldn't pop up unless you were using a deep probing radar or something like that.

And preparing to step out was Ariana, Team Rocket's sole female Admin. "D-Delia." she stammered as she noticed the woman in question, raising her hands in surrender. "Look, what happened at Silph Co was NOT my fault! I ordered them to fuck RIGHT off!"

Delia just stared at her. "One of your men _shot my son_." she deadpanned. "That makes _you _responsible for it."

"I told them to retreat! Pissing you off wasn't worth the effort!" Ariana said, knowing her Pokemon were no match for Delia's and that peace was only obtained through surrender.

Delia was a true Master, as were Giovanni and (though he didn't know it) Ash; Ariana was not. Type specialists were no match for the real Masters.

"Normally, Ariana, I'd just skip the begging and shoot you." Delia said, frowning. "But you're telling the truth. Besides, you knew the plan was never going to work. You only stayed because of Silver." This got Belladonna's attention.

"Who's Silver?" she asked, Delia looking at her eldest child, the look of disgust quickly vanishing.

"Your younger cousin: he's Red's age." her mother answered. "Now. The plan."

Ariana sighed. Delia knew the plan as well as she did: isolate Kanto, weaken the league, conquer the region. But that was so far in the future, there were never plans for what to do next: Giovanni knew it wasn't happening, so he didn't bother with planning. Archer and Proton had their own plans, Petrel was just INSANE and Ariana… didn't bother.

"It was your mother's pipedream, Delia. Everyone with two brain cells not wrapped up in their own megalomania knew that." the redhead answered, looking ready for death.

"Well, that's good," Belladonna muttered. "Don't have to worry about Team Rocket being our overlords any time soon."

"Your grandmother's day passed a LONG time ago." Delia said, patting her daughter on the shoulder before looking at Ariana. "Only question is, what do I do with _you_?"

The redhead shrugged. "I honestly expected 'beg for mercy, then get hyper beamed by that Goodra of yours' when I opened the door." she said.

Belladonna tilted her head to the right. "What's a Goodra?" she asked.

"Kalosian dragon-type." both elder women answered as one before Delia smiled.

"Well, I didn't want to shoot you, Hyper Beam or not. That's a waste. So, I'll make you a deal." she said to Ariana, who looked at her stepsister. "You turn yourself and your men over to the League and I'll convince Lance NOT to have you shot on sight."

"Life in prison? That's the best you can do?" Ariana snarked, no longer terrified out of her mind.

"Lance needs an army and you know SOMETHING'S brewing in Orre." Delia stated pointedly. "And you have the loyalty of, what, a third or more of the Team just because they stare at your rack?"

Ariana blushed at that, muttering something about 'not just that' that Belladonna didn't want to hear.

"Good. Now, I'll call Lance, you get your men-" Delia started before a blonde woman jumped down from above, wearing the Rocket uniform.

"Admin Ariana!" she said as she stood up, before noticing she had company and paled in terror. "Oh, hell."

"She's not here to kill us, Domino." Ariana said, giving them her name. Or at least codename. "Report."

"Well… It's Proton." she said, making both women groan and facepalm.

"Isn't it always?" they said as Belladonna sighed.

"What about Proton? My brother stabbed him in the gut a month ago. Shouldn't he still be in jail?" the black-haired girl asked the Rocket spy.

"Ghetsis bailed him out of jail and helped him recruit a small army. They're attacking Fuchsia Gym right now." Domino replied. "And… well… he's signed their death warrants: your son and his companions are there."

Delia glanced at her. "Excuse me," she stated.

Domino would later recall only one event terrified her more then Delia Ketchum glaring at her.

* * *

**En route to Fushcia from the Safari Zone - 2103 hours local time**

* * *

Pikachu had to keep slapping Ash upside the head to get him not to mope.

"Pikapi!" '_Ash, for the last time, you are _not_ responsible,_' Pikachu snapped at Ash as his trainer slowed down. "Pika." '_You were aiming for his knee._'

"That doesn't change the fact I got him killed." Ash retorted weakly. "I wanted to knock him out, not kill him."

"Pi-ka." '_Oh, please. Those Safari Zone Pokemon would've done him in anyways. That Vulpix torched his back and the Chansey?_' his starter said before scoffing in amusement. "Piiika." '_Chansey are as non-violent as you can get for Pokemon and she lobbed an egg at his head! They wanted him dead anyways. There was no changing that._'

Ash looked at Pikachu when he said that. "You're joking." he hoped.

"Pikachu." '_I wish. Those were aimed to kill,_' Pikachu said. "Chu." '_They just weren't powerful enough and then you put a bullet into his knee._'

"Cue the Basculin." Ash muttered, remembering the red foamy water before shaking his head. "I'll have to talk to that shrink."

Pikachu sighed himself. "Kachu." '_Just don't dwell on it. Killing's not a topic to joke about, but not something to obsess over. Besides, you aimed for his knee. Arceus' decree on violence was fuzzy on the subject of kneecaps._'

That made Ash feel somewhat better.

An explosion caught his attention before a Jenny on a bike rode up the road towards him, blowing her whistle to make him stop.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't let you enter the city at this time!" the officer, who sounded younger then ones he knew of, cried. "A Team Rocket attack force is assaulting the Gym and we're having a hard time keeping the fires from spreading into the forests and the city itself!"

That only pushed Ash into action as he reached for the pokedex, knowing he could transfer Pokemon from the ranch to him.

(Oak or no Oak, thanks to Bulbasaur setting up a watch cycle for those staying and Chimchar showing them how it worked)

"I'm sorry, officer, but I DO need to get to that gym." Ash said, transferring the Pokemon he needed into the balls on his belt.

"I don't think you understand." the Jenny said, Ash finally realizing this one was actually not much older than he was. "The entire area is a WARZONE."

"I _do _understand," Ash said, the Pokedex finalizing the transfers of Charmeleon, Gabite, Pidgeot, Squirtle and Oshawatt into the balls on him, sending Treecko, Snivy, Tranquill, Swaddle and Bayleef back to the ranch before stepping towards the young Jenny. "But YOU need to understand my friends are there and I need to help them, so either let me past or in the name of the Alpha and Omega Pokemon Arceus, I will _force _my way past and you will NOT enjoy the way I do it. _**STEP ASIDE**_."

The bluenette blushed and did just that, Ash releasing Pidgeot and climbing on her back.

He had a fight to stop.

* * *

**Fuschia Gym - 2105 hours local time**

* * *

Ninja, by their nature, were hard to hit, sticking to shadows and striking from behind.

So Proton solved that problem with cackling pyromaniacs, using crazed Houndoom and flamethrowers. He wasn't that far off, as he was shooting two pistols at the building, emptying the weapons just to hit one of the ninja.

Or the Waterflower bitch using a light machine gun to pin his men down. Why was SHE here?!

Well, he wasn't going to complain: where she was, Ketchum was. His gut still hurt from getting impaled and he wanted payback.

One of the flame grunts torched part of the building where that purple-haired brat was. They learned she was psychic quickly when she used her 'talent' to mess with one of the grunts, making him trip over his feet and accidentally shoot himself.

Top priority: kill the telepath fucking with his men. Secondary priority: kill the Waterflower sow.

The grunt torching the purplette's cover soon had his tank leak on him, dosing him in napalm, which didn't catch fire until an ember touched his soaked uniform. And cotton burns oh so _easily_.

'_Never mind_.' he thought before raising one of his pistols and putting a round into the grunt's head to end his suffering and keep him from running around and setting more of his men on fire. '_The Waterflower whore dies _first.'

"Rocket team, I want that bitch dead!" he ordered, the three bazooka-using men and one woman loading their weapons from relative safety before taking aim.

A kunai slammed into one of their heads, his weapon firing upwards.

And as Sir Issac Newton discovered in Galar over three thousand years ago, what goes up must come down, which happened six seconds later, the bazooka crew dumbly watching before the rocket came back down.

Newton's first law was a BITCH.

Proton screamed, losing his only option to quickly demolish the building, which, while looking all traditional, was a reinforced fortress once you got past the facade.

"You never could learn, Proton," a familiar voice said from a spruce tree above Proton, who pointed his two pistols at the tree and fired wildly.

He hit nothing but wood, the guns running dry.

"I would feel sorry for you, nephew, but you serve a master that seeks only to make the Era of Shadow longer." Koga said, Proton reloading and firing at the source of the voice, which jumped to another tree.

"You are NOT my uncle!" Proton screamed.

"You may be right," Koga said as he appeared on the burning third floor. "You forsook any right to our family name the moment you left our home, discarded your name and joined Team Rocket. And unlike your youngest cousin, you are not worthy of being called family!"

Proton flicked the setting on the machine pistols to full auto. "DIE!" he screamed, Koga diving into the building.

The Rocket Admin rushed towards it, the ninja being occupied with his men.

* * *

Janine was not used to fighting a war of knife against gun.

They were noisy and inaccurate, not suitable for silent kills.

Her father did have that odd one, though, where the magazine was the grip.

Her targets were two Rocket grunts, one with yellow hair, the other green, firing at… nothing. Their aim was at the ground just before the gym.

Odd.

Still, she dropped behind them, throwing knives in hand.

The green one looked over his shoulder as he reloaded. "Uh...Cass?" he asked as he saw her.

"What?" the yellow haired one (a woman? With her body, Janine thought she was a man) snapped as she fired her two pistols at the ground.

"He is referring to _me_." Janine said, speaking up and spooking her into stopping. "You are ineffective. You aren't even hitting anything."

"That's the POINT! This was fucking stupid, but Proton's gone NUTS!" the green one said. "We do nothing, we got a chance of not gettin' killed by you!"

...Smart.

"Then leave." she snapped, both taking their chance to get the hell out of there, rushing through the forest.

Janine hoped never to see them again.

Then the ground in front of the treeline was plowed by a Hyper Beam before meteors rained from above, throwing the grunts all over the place.

A Charmeleon and Squirtle landed on the ground before the turtle retracted into his shell and used rapid spin and a high powered water gun, spinning on the ground while the Charmeleon jumped on top, a Protect bubble keeping him from spinning with the Tiny Turtle Pokemon as he torched everything that was wearing a Rocket uniform.

An otter then appeared from a thrown Pokeball, putting out the fires started by the Rockets and anything accidental by the Charmeleon.

And on high, a Pidgeot flew, blasting all below with gusts and Air Slashes.

On its' back, Pikachu on his shoulder, was Ash Ketchum, looking resolute.

* * *

"Pikapi." '_I think you enjoyed that, Ash._' Pikachu said from his position hanging on Ash's shoulder and back.

"You're damned right!" Ash said as Gabite glid down, burping out Draco Meteors all the while until hitting the ground. Then he did what Gabites did almost as well as Gibles and 'swam' through the ground.

Vun-vun. Vun-vun.

"…Does that happen all the time?" Ash asked as it continued.

"Pika?" 'I don't know.' Pikachu said shrugging before Zubats and the occasional Golbat flew at the bird, starter and trainer.

This was going to be simple.

"Pika!" '_Down you go!_' cried Pikachu as he hopped off, firing Thunderbolts into some of the bats, sending them towards the ground.

A Golbat tried using Supersonic, but Pidgeot whacked it with Steel wing before it could disorientate Pikachu, right before more of them were shocked into submission.

Pidgeot expertly swooped in to pick up the mouse in her talons, like an eagle would a real mouse, but while that eagle would eat the rodent, Pidgeot threw him into the air for Ash to catch in his arms.

Which he did, Pikachu happily climbing back onto his trainer's shoulder.

The Team Rocket grunts stood no chance for three reasons: one, Ash was unexpected. Two, his attack was swift. And finally, his team knew _what_ to do, _when_ to do it and _how_ to do it.

This was what it was meant to be a Pokemon on Ash Ketchum's team. No matter their quirks out of battle, in it, they were virtually unstoppable.

* * *

Proton climbed into the burning building just as the Draco Meteor barrage started, one meteor collapsing his only way out and keeping him from getting to the busty water trainer.

A kunai slammed into the wood, making Proton flinch before getting his head back in the game.

"What was the point of this, nephew?" Koga asked kindly before Proton fired b ck with his two machine pistols.

"For the Team! I kill you and your daughter, I can take this damned clan over and give them to Team Rocket so Giovanni can actually start taking over the damned region!" he snapped as he kept firing, one gun running dry before he ejected the magazine and reloaded it with one hand.

"And you can be the power behind his throne?" Koga asked sardonically. "So you can rule without ruling?"

"You rule from the shadows! You keep Lance in power!" Proton yelled before firing again, bullets spraying wildly, Koga struggling to keep ahead of them. "You rule Kanto through Lance!"

"I rule no one. I _advise_." Koga retorted as he vanished, a knife cutting Proton's ear before a fist slammed into his side, delivered from his left, breaking several ribs.

"Fuck you!" Proton yelled as he drew a bayonet, hacking wildly at Koga, who dodged and parried expertly.

"Watch your mouth, child." Koga said before spitting blood onto the floor of the burning building.

"I can damn well curse if I want, old man!" Proton yelled as he slashed at Koga, who jumped to the side, slamming two fists into Proton's spine, knocking him over.

Proton reacted quickly, fighting the pain to dump an entire magazine at Koga at point blank range.

Out of the 25 rounds, only two hit their mark and those two only grazed his leg and arm.

"You are clearly mad." Koga said, finally drawing a short sword from the wall. "And I will put down Giovanni's mad dog."

Proton's expression said it all before Koga shoved the sword into his gut.

In the same damn place Ketchum did.

"First the brat...now you…" Proton spat, blood leaking from his mouth. "In the _same fucking place_…"

Koga slid the blade down, cutting into Proton's internal organs. There would be no recovery from this.

"You will die today, Proton." Koga spat, coughing up blood. "But you will not be dying alone." With that, life left the Rocket Admin as he slumped to the floor, finally dead.

* * *

Pidgeot landed, Oshawatt and Squirtle now putting out the fire, along with a transferred in Totodile and Palpitoad, hosing the building down.

Charmeleon and Gabite were not happy being sent back, but the 'bring in everyone' button was for dire emergencies.

"Flashy," Ash jumped at the sound of Janine's voice as she suddenly appeared behind him, Pikachu sparking threateningly. "But effective."

"I wasn't doing that to be cool." Ash muttered. The hyper beam was to distract, the draco meteors were to force into submission and Charmeleon… well, Misty was in danger, so he was pissed.

"I am a kunoichi, Ash Ketchum. I constantly think in terms of stealth and completing my missions without being noticed getting in or out," Janine replied before smiling. "But that was… cool, as you said."

"Ash!"

Ash turned to find Misty running out of the smoking gym, Anabel shakily following, her Natu keeping out the smoke. He wasn't prepared for her jumping and glomping onto him.

The Pallet Town trainer protested, but his voice was muffled by Misty's bust.

"Thank Arceus!" Misty said before letting Ash breathe, not caring about the fact he was shoved into her cleavage this time.

The first time, she was embarrassed. This time, she was grateful.

"Well done." said another voice as Koga weakly walked out of the building, blood leaking from his mouth. "But I do not think… I can give you your gym battle." With that, Koga fell to his knees, Janine rushing to his side.

"Father, what have you done?!" she cried, Koga looking at her with disapproval.

"A ninja does not show concern." he said before coughing. "But a daughter can." He spat up more blood, making Ash rush over to him.

"What happened?" Ash asked hurriedly.

"Proton. He is dead." Koga summarized. "But in his final moments… he brought an end to my life, as well."

"You should not have done that!" Janine said. "I could have-"

"You would have died," Koga stated. "And I will not see my daughter's life end before it can bloom." Koga reached into his torched cloak, presenting Ash with the Soul Badge. "This is yours. For saving my family's ancestral home."

Ash shook his head. "I, I can't-" "You WILL." Koga insisted, putting it in his hand. "This will be my last badge." He spat up more blood, his organs finally giving into entropy. "You are the hope of this world, Ash Ketchum. Do not fall into darkness." Koga continued coughing before falling on his back.

Janine helped him to a sitting position against the wall, Koga chuckling as she did.

"At least… my daughter… won't end as I did. Take care… of her…" Koga's voice trailed off before he bowed his head.

Ash took off his hat, placing it over his heart as a sign of respect as Janine started crying.

"Pika." '_At least he died protecting his child,_' Pikachu said, bowing his own head before the surviving ninja from the attack appeared themselves, kneeling before their fallen leader as Janine mourned. Misty and Anabel stood awkwardly in silence, unwilling to say anything before Janine stopped crying and stood up, facing Ash with red eyes from her sobbing.

"Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, Pokemon Trainer and Prince of Rota," she intoned before closing her eyes and kneeling. "My father, Koga, saw in you the end of this dark age. And in this I shall aid ye."

Ash grew VERY uncomfortable with this. Pikachu, on the other hand, was just surprised.

"As the new head of the Fushcia Ninja clan, I vow to serve you until such time as dismissed from this mortal coil." she said, voice shakily but with iron will. "May you not find me wanting."

Ash just blinked dumbly, not knowing what to do before she reached for his hand and kissed it.

Pikachu just cackled. "Pi…" '_Oh, I am going to be drowning in Ashlings…_' he laughed.

Ash's psychic scream made Anabel's Natu recoil in shock as he tried to block it out.

* * *

**Celadon City - 2348 Hours local time**

* * *

A phone rang, a Natu perched on it as he looked at it before a hand reached for it, the Natu hopping off before the reciever was picked up.

"Whatever this is, can it not wait until morning?" the irritated Gaffery asked as he sat up in his bed.

"_Doc?_"

Gaffery fully awoke at the sound of Ash Ketchum's voice. "Mr. Ketchum." he said as he turned on the lamp at the side of his bed and put on a pair of glasses. "I wasn't expecting you."

"_Look, doc, I know it's late,_" Ash said on the other end. "_But I need to talk to someone that'll tell me the truth._"

"Can it wait?" Gaffery said before turning on the radio.

"_-At 10:21 pm, this evening, the legendary ninja Koga passed away after defending the Fuchsia City Gym, also home to his clan, from a massive attack by Team Rocket. He is survived by-_"

Gaffery turned it off. "Tell your Natu to teleport you to Celedon City's department building. Mine will teleport you here." he said, knowing this couldn't wait at all before hanging up.

His Natu looked at the aging man. "You heard. It gives me time to get coffee into me." he said, rubbing his leathery face. "I think I'm going to need it."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Gaffery had his coffee and Ash walked into his apartment/office. "You woke me up near midnight." the old man groused. "This better be good."

Ash nodded. "I was in the Safari Zone." he started, Gaffery pausing in the drinking of his coffee.

"The Safari Zone?" he asked. "Not the gym?"

"The gym was after." Ash said. "While I was there, the warden-"

"Kaiser?" Gaffery cut in, scoffing. "Obsessive bastard thinks every Dratini and Dragonaire on the planet is his. Believe me, I know. Let me guess, he tried to kill you."

"He did." Ash said before shamefully adding "I shot him in the knee and he fell into a pool filled with Basculin."

Gaffery's amusement disappeared. "You didn't know about the pool?" he asked, putting his coffee down.

"I saw it, I just didn't see the Basculin." Ash admitted. "They… ate him."

"They don't have the nickname 'Piranha Pokemon' for nothing." Gaffery said before reaching for a bottle of brandy and uncorking it. "Ash, I know this may seem the wrong thing to say, but you did nothing wrong."

Ash looked ready to protest, but Gaffery glared at him to shut him up. "You didn't mean to kill him." he said rhetorically as he poured the brandy into two glasses. "Just 'put a cap in his ass', as some of those fools would say and knock him out."

Ash nodded before being offered the glass. Another glare made him accept it. "Small sips." Gaffery said. "Alcohol kicks your ass the first time."

Ash did as he was told, sipping the drink, gagging the first time, but after the second, he was drinking like an old friend of his.

"Not going to do this often, just so you know." Gaffery said sitting down. "You needed it this time."

"Thanks, doc." Ash said, sipping the brown substance carefully.

"I know this wasn't easy for you. Hell, no one likes talking to me." Gaffery admitted. "I won't bother setting up a visiting schedule. Just know if you need to work out a problem, you come to me."

Ash opened up his mouth, Gaffery then saying "Girl problems are not my business." he chuckled as Ash silently screamed, then poured him another glass.

* * *

**Fuschia City Pokemon Center - 0036 hours local time - Day 63**

* * *

Ash could barely see straight as Natu teleported him back to the Pokemon Center, where… all three… girls were waiting for him.

Asleep.

Ash knew the evils of alcohol. He would not give into the urges NOW.

He opened the door, Misty and Anabel sleeping on bunks on the left side of the room, Janine on the top right bunk.

"You reek of alcohol." Janine said, being a light sleeper, apparently.

"I accidentally sent someone to their death." Ash admitted, his face red from the alcohol in his system. "My shrink thought it would help… nerves."

Janine hmmed. "You have not killed on purpose." she stated.

"First time Rocket shot himself in the head by accident fighting me." Ash said as he stumbled into the lower bunk. "Kaiser was the second. Fell… to the pool of piranha."

"The insane warden? We only tolerated him because we were too busy to end his pitiful life." Janine said. "You did Fuchsia a service."

Ash mumbled as he fell asleep, Janine scoffing at his drunkenness, though grateful he didn't try anything… untoward.

* * *

**The morning after - 0539 hours local time**

* * *

Ash took the earliest chance he could get to take a cold shower. As in ice cold.

"La." '_Do I have to do this every time you react this way to Misty and other pretty ladies?_' Lapras asked as he chilled the water to just above freezing.

"I'm not getting yelled at for a bodily reaction I have no control over," Ash said as he dived into the cooled pool of water, the shock like thousands of knives being driven into him.

It was enough to wake him up completely and deal with that issue of his as he got out of the pond, steam rising off his chilled body.

"Thanks," he said, teeth chattering.

"La!" '_Sure. Just call me for a Gym battle sometime soon, please!_' Lapras said before Ash returned him to his Pokeball.

"Effective," Ash tried not to jump at Janine's voice. "You understand your problem and take measures to deal with it."

"Please, stop," Ash asked as he hid himself behind a fence to change out of his boxers and get dressed.

"It is nothing I haven't seen before," Janine said before Ash sighed and got his new underpants and socks on, at least, surrendering to the fact Janine was going nowhere.

"Are you going back to the Gym?" he finally asked as he got his pants on.

"The Gym is badly damaged. It will take months, if not years, to repair," Janine said. "I also need experience traveling before I take my father's place as Gym Leader. Thus, I will go with you."

Ash was about to say something before a familiar and unwelcome being appeared.

"Bi." '_Ash, I-_' Celebi started before seeing Janine. "Cele." '_Aw, _fuck_._'

"Lady Celebi?" Janine gasped before bowing. "It is an honor!"

"Celebi, do you mind?" Ash asked.

"Bi." '_I was about to warn you about Grandpa Canyon. It's going to be bad,_' the Time Travel Pokemon said.

"I _know _it's going to be bad," Ash said, Janine looking up at Ash for disrespecting the Mythical Pokemon before realizing he was holding a conversation with her.

"Can you… No, you can _clearly_ understand her." she muttered. "What is going on?"

Ash sighed. "Oh, boy."

* * *

**60,000 Feet in the air - Above Kanto - 2314 hours Local Time**

* * *

To most of the people of Pokemon, general air travel simply wasn't possible due both lack of aviation fuel and how dangerous aerial Pokemon could be - specifically those of the Shadow variety. However with enough advanced technology, and a lot of luck, it can actually be pulled off… especially at night, when any major aerial predator that could pose a threat to large transport aircraft are asleep.

This is why the large C-1 Transport Plane was able to reach such high heights, cruising above the clouds unharassed by high-flying predators like Fearrows. However the rear hatch of the transport began to lower down - as a single figure clad in atmospheric gear stepped onto the ramp. He seemed to make a few stretches, before he casually leaped out of the plane - dropping down towards the ground. He remained in freefall for a few solid minutes - eventually breaking through the cloud cover before he could actually see the ground itself.

With the pull of a cord, the Parachute went off as he floated the rest of the way down to the ground - coming to a gentle fall. He gathered his parachute gear into a wadded-up ball, before he began to ditch his gear. He pulled his helmet off, revealing the man to be a young man - no older than 19 or so, no younger than 17, with black, crew cut hair, and scarlet eyes.

He pulled out his backpack - retrieving his gear which included basic survival gear, as well as his weapons of choice from his Howa Type 64 Battle Rifle, a SCK/Minebea pistol, and of course… his collection of six Pokeballs.

As he picked them out, he then retrieved his radio - pulling out the antenna for it. "This is recon one," He spoke, "Spearow has landed."

"_Understood Recon One,_" Came a voice, "_We're returning to base. Report your findings and the status of Kanto and surrounding regions at associated times, and ascertain the condition of the clans._"

"Understood, moving out," He began to put it away, but the voice spoke up.

"_Kyoji,_" The voice said, as Kyoji paused. "_Under no circumstance must you inform them of where you are from. Understood?_"

He paused for a moment, but smiled "Relax Commander." Kyoji chuckled, "As far as these people today know, Ransei doesn't even exist anymore."

"_Make sure it stays that way,_" the voice said. "_Ransei Banzai._"

"Ransei Banzai," He sighed, before turning it off. "Well… furthest from home I'll ever be…" He reached for his pokeballs, tossing one out - and emerging from it was Charizard that cracked his neck. "Alright buddy, we got ground to cover so-" he was cut off as his second Pokeball activated and…

CHOMP!

"Gib!" A _Yellow _Gible warbled on Kyoji's head, as he sighed - but smiled.

"Gible, come on now…" he chuckled, removing the landshark off his head. "We've gotta go, you can chomp and dig in the morning!"

"Gible!" The Land Shark leaped onto the ground, sparks of energy flying off of him before he began digging into the ground - speeding into a single direction.

_Du-dun,_ _Du-dun, Du-dun, Du-dun, Du-dun, Du-dun, Du-dun, Du-dun,..._

"…we're never gonna figure out how he does that…" Kyoji sighed, and Charizard shrugged before he climbed onto the back of the flying lizard-like Pokemon, and took to the skies to chase after their… wayward and adventurous land shark.

* * *

**Entry 31:** Koga

At age 51, Koga was the oldest master of the Fuschia Ninja Clan and the longest serving, having been master of the Clan for nearly 35 years. In AS26, he succeeded his father as master, but waited for ten years to decide the Clan's allegiance before swearing himself to Lance Wataru upon his attaining Champion status.

While most of his family are unknown, most of our information on the clan comes from Proton, who was Koga's nephew prior to being expunged from their records, but it has been confirmed he has two sisters, Aya and Katsumi, the latter of whom was the mother of the Sensational Sisters of Cerulean, including Misty Waterflower and a daughter, Janine.

Due to his life as a shinobi (male ninja; female ninja are referred to as kunoichi) Koga exposed himself to a large number of poisons and toxins that slowly killed him over the decades. While his daughter is immune to these poisons, he suffered a long death before finally dying in AS60, succeeded by his daughter Janine, who then swore the Great Vow of Loyalty to Ash Ketchum. Politically, this means the Clan is now allied with the Kingdom of Rota.

* * *

**Entry 32:** The Ninja Clans

The exact origin of the various Ninja clans which can be found across the world is a topic that most common people debate about in the modern-day, but before the outbreak of the Shadow Pokemon their origin was quite well-known. All ninja clans originally come from the heartland of Ransei - a large island that was believed to be located far to the east of Kanto, Johto and all other major regions of the world. According to ancient legend, this island - due to its remarkable resemblance of Arceus - was once the gods 'seat of power' when he lived among man and pokemon alike.

The Ninja Clans left Ransei, originally as a means of spying on the rest of the world - as Ransei is a nation highly distrustful of 'outsiders'. Not to mention a nation which had undergone a long series of civil wars between its 17 Kingdoms and Provinces - which finally came to an end thanks to a mythical hero whose name had long been lost to history. However, when the Shadow Pokemon emerged and besieged the world, Ransei closed its borders, and cut all contact with the outside world. Those who remember Ransei, namely those of the Ninja Clans, presume that it had been overrun with Shadow Pokemon - and their homeland was lost.

In order to preserve their customs and traditions, these Ninja clans split up - moving to the far corners of the known world, remaining silent and hidden from those that would harm them, and in turn harm the final legacy of the nation of Ransei: the Ninja. Yet even now, many of the newer generation of Ninja - who have been recruited and trained locally - barely know or even recall the history of the motherland. While they may learn the teachings, the history is at risk of being lost forever… unless Ransei could one day be returned to.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Yes, Ransei. The region from **_**Pokemon Conquest**_ **exists here. The Ranger ones exist in the anime: why the hell not?**

**117Jorn: If Orre can exist, so can Ransei - besides, we needed an excuse as to why all these Ninja clans exist. Because they clearly share a lot in common with one another, and yet they are spread out ALL across the Pokemon regions, with no 'homeland' from where their culture originated from. **

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, so, we used Ransei - **_**Conquest **_**obviously happened in the distant past, though I'll admit I'm honestly considering the possibility of 'novelizing' it in a fanfic. Though I'd need to reset my Game Card in order to start the game from scratch. Been long enough I might just do that anyway.**

**Ron the True Fan: Anyway, for those wanting to know exactly what the implements of death and destruction Ash and co have been forced to use, here it is.**

**M1911A1: Ash, Giovanni, Delia, Basically everyone (it's easily copied and can be built from scrap metal if you know what you're doing. And here, A LOT of people know what they're doing)  
Mini-14: Ash, Delia, Belladonna (The miniature M14 was perfect)  
RPD: Misty (She has to deal with a LOT of Shadow Pokemon or just insane Pokemon, so rapid firepower. Jorn wanted the M60, but the polymer required oil and there IS no oiling industry in **_**SOT **_**thanks to the plague that is Shadow Pokemon. So, the Russian precursor to the RPK)  
Mauser C96: Jessie, James, Butch, Cassidy, EVERY Team Rocket Grunt (They're a mafia and the Chinese mafia used these for DECADES. These ones are modified with detachable box mags just like...)  
Mauser M712 **_**Schnellfeuer:**_ **Team Rocket Admins, Ash, Misty, Anabel (the ultimate C96 is the best Team Rocket can give to the admins with a full-auto setting. Ash got his from Proton, Misty from Archer, Anabel...from Koga, after a fashion)  
China Lake (M79 with pump-action and tube-mag): Claire (Take wanted ridiculous. This was the least ridiculous and most practical option)**

**Takeshi: Claire probably needs something big and heavy for dealing with Shadows. A gatling gun would certainly work.**

**Ron the True Fan: See what I have to deal with? (Mutters about how the minigun is impractical as sin as a handheld weapon) By the way, Koga's last words? They were about _Misty_.**

**Ja Ne!**


	22. Chapter 21: Worlds Collide

**Ron the True Fan: The long wait is over. What long wait? Togepi, of course. Grandpa Canyon cometh. **

**117Jorn: *Begins playing Jurassic park music* **

**Ron the true Fan: Do not remind me that it took nearly fifteen years for them to put in the Poke-version of a T-Rex, PLEASE.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Right. (turns to Thor) Zap him if he gets too depressed about that, please. A small bolt, just enough to shock him out of it.**

**Thor: Of course, mortal.**

**Ron the True Fan: (Gets zapped and makes a close approximation of R2-D2's zapped scream) Happy...July...14th...**

* * *

**Oak Ranch - 0958 hours local time - Day 66 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

Charmeleon was at it again, pushing his luck in fighting Phanpy, Gabite and Buizel all at once, trying to force himself to evolve.

Bulbasaur shook his head. The incident at Fuschia Gym had forced them all into a training frenzy, with only Trapinch, Durant and the surprise Dratini not getting involved.

The ant was attempting to build herself a new colony and Trapinch made the mistake of bothering Snorlax. Dratini was playing with Jigglypuff.

Bulbasaur felt something hit his bulb, thinking it was Heracross before Treecko of all Pokemon joined the battle royale. That made some sense: Charmeleon and Treecko WERE the most power obsessed of all Ash's Pokemon.

"Squirt!" '_Let's do this!_' Squitle said, a band with a stone on his head.

"Bulba." '_It won't work._' Bulbasaur said sufferingly. Ever since Squirtle discovered Mega Evolution, he had been trying to make himself into a quote-unquote 'Mega Squirtle'.

Squirtle had clearly hit himself on the head during the firefighting training, because the Blastoisite on his head ('acquired' from Oak's lab) only worked with the last stage of his line.

"Squirtle!" '_Can and WILL!_' the Tiny Turtle said, closing his eyes and focusing, Bulbasaur rolling his eyes and watching the fight between the ground, dragon, water, grass, and fire-types.

Gabite and Buizel were knocked out by Treecko and Phanpy was unceremoniously sent rolling into a tree by Charmeleon before the two began fighting, claw to claw.

Bulbasaur glanced at the lab, where a monitor was blinking. "Char." '_I'll get it,_' said Chimchar, running into the lab as Bayleef accidentally whacked Squirtle with her vines, sending him flying into the building.

Life was good, Bulbsasaur mused.

"Chimchar!" '_Bulbasaur, you better get in here!_' the fire monkey yelled.

The Bulb Pokemon sighed as he got up and walked into the lab, finding four Safari Balls on the teleporter pad.

"Chim." '_Did Professor Oak forget these?_' he asked.

"Bulb." '_Doubtful,_' Bulbasaur said before Chimchar picked one up, only to accidentally release what was in it: a Vulpix.

"Vul!" '_That was dreadful!_' the fox said before looking around and seeing the two starters. "Pix?" '_Umm… hello?_'

Bulbasaur facevined.

* * *

**Grandpa Canyon - 1027 hours local time**

* * *

The canyon was formed by accident when a bunch of pissed off Shadow Pokemon - all ice-types - forcibly eroded their way to try and get to Fuchsia City over 50 years ago.

The Canyon was, apparently, named such by some scientist who joked that 'his grandpa would be happy to see a canyon in Kanto'.

A fin surfaced, followed by the top half of a yellow land shark. "Gib!"

"Gible! Stop… running…" Kyoji panted, as he ran after the little land shark - Charizard having become exhausted chasing after the enthusiastic shark, leading to him needing to go the rest of the way on foot.

"Gib!" Gible pointed ahead at the dig sites. Kyoji looked up, pulling out a small scope as he looked it over.

"Ahh… this is one of those fossil dig sites…" he muttered, before he chuckled. "Boy… they're gonna be in for a surprise if they go to Ransei…"

"Gible! Gib!" The Gible leaped up and began digging again - its theme music trailing behind him as Kyoji sighed.

"Oh come on Gible!" He sighed, as he began chasing him again.

Land sharks would be land sharks.

* * *

At the same time, Ash was trying NOT to groan at the fact that Pikachu was 'suggesting names for the future Ashlings', his starter taking perverse love in torturing his trainer.

"Pika." '_So, would 'Hikari' or 'Jade' be better for Misty, or 'Ryuko'?_' he asked, Ash gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"Do I want to know what your starter is referring to?" Janine asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. You do not," Ash answered. Ever since Janine joined the party proper (Pikachu claimed 'harem', which Ash was NOT happy about) he had been making baby name suggestions.

He hoped he would stop after the first day. He hadn't.

"Hey! Ash!" cried a familiar voice, making Ash blink.

"Gary?" he asked, seeing his best friend/rival for the first time since he left Pallet. Where the hell had he been?

"I'd ask how you were doin', but I can tell!" Gary said, wearing the same outfit as the last time he saw him at Grandpa Canyon, smirking as he walked over. "So, mind saving some pretty girls for the rest of us?"

Ash's response was a murderous glare for suggesting he was trying to act like the womanizing bastard that was his father.

"Whoa, no need to act like your mom," Gary said, hands raised in surrender. "Seriously, between your mom and sister, I should be dead by now."

"Your mother is Delia Ketchum?" Janine asked, curious about Ash's mother. "My father mentioned her once. She destroyed his team when he won the Indigo Conference 25 years ago."

"And who's the ninja?" Gary asked, looking her over. "Well, she's no Serena, but hey."

"The term, fool, is _kunoichi_." Janine deadpanned. "I am Janine of Fuschia."

"Koga's kid?" Gary said before wincing. "Sorry about what happened to him."

"Save your sympathy: my father died doing his duty, as any ninja would," Janine snapped before Gary looked to Ash's other companions.

"And they are?" he asked.

"Misty Waterflower." Misty said, introducing herself, looking less than pleased at where he was staring. She was so used to Ash being respectful, she forgot others their age wouldn't be.

"Anabel Lila. I'm from Saffron," Anabel answered with a mild bow.

"Gary, I am wondering something." Ash asked before looking at his outfit. "Why are you dressed like Harrison Ford?"

"Who's Harrison Ford?" Gary asked, confused. Ash just gave him a blank stare. "Anyway, come on! The dig teams could use another set of hands!"

"As long as they keep theirs to themselves, pervert." Janine deadpanned, Ash ignoring that for a few reasons as he walked ahead of them.

One, avoiding another Team Rocket incident, even if the TRio had more or less disappeared. He hadn't seen them since the _Olympic _put into Porta Vista.

Two and FAR more importantly… Togepi.

NOT having Misty's egg of joy was just WRONG. Every time he looked at her, she half-expected Togepi to crawl out of her bag.

"Pika?" '_You're moping. What is it?_' Pikachu said from his perch on his shoulder.

"Togepi." Ash answered simply. Pikachu nodded.

"Pikapi-ka-pichu." '_Well, let's get hunting and avoid the angry-as-hell prehistoric Pokemon. Maybe transfer in Gabite: maybe he can get a leg up fighting them so he can be a Garchomp._' Pikachu suggested.

"Charmeleon evolved here, too." Ash said as he opened the Pokedex, activating the transfer system to notice several new entries.

A Vulpix, a pair of Nidoran, one male, one female… and a Shiny Chancey.

"Pika?" '_That's new,_' Pikachu said before remembering Ash's tossing spree and the debris it generated. "Pi." '_Oh._'

"The Professor is going to _murder_ me." Ash muttered as he transferred Natu and Pidgeot back to the ranch.

* * *

**Oak Ranch - 1036 hours local time**

* * *

"Bulba." '_You have explaining to do,_' Bulbasaur said as he stared down the four 'newcomers': a mated pair of Nidoran, a Vulpix and a green Chansey that sparkled like Noctowl when she was released from her ball, so she was a Shiny.

"Vulpix!" '_We saw your trainer deal with Kaiser and saw he did not want to kill. That reminded us of the days of our grandsires, before the Shadow,_' Vulpix answered. "Pix." '_We wanted to know what it was like outside of the zone._'

One of the balls pinged before opening to reveal Natu, transferred in from Ash. "Natu." '_Since when did he get a Vulpix?_' she asked.

"Bulb." '_They caught themselves using balls Ash left in the Safari Zone,_' Bulbasaur asked before Quilava finally arrived, panting.

"Qui." '_Sorry, was… busy,_' she said. "Lava?" '_When-_'

"Natu." '_Safari Zone,_' Natu answered. "Tu, Natu." '_Charmeleon and Gabite, you're up._'

Charmeleon tapped the 'transfer ball', as it was nicknamed, before being sucked in and set to Ash via the Network. Gabite only did it a minute later, moping as he was transferred.

"Chan." '_Look, life with your trainer is better than the Safari Zone, Kaiser or not. He hunted us down if we were unique enough!_' Chancey said.

"Squirt." '_Not like we have a choice,_' Squirtle spat, sore over his failure to Mega Evolve. Bayleef and Bulbasaur vine-whacked him for it.

"Qui?" '_Why not contact Ash?_' Quilava asked.

"Chimchar." '_He's in Grandpa Canyon, according to the transfer system,_' Chimchar said, reading the screen before jumping down. "Char." '_The transfer only works because it's basically a teleportation system. Radio won't work unless he leaves._'

Everyone looked at him oddly.

"Chimchar-chim." '_I didn't just spend most of my time after the Lily of the Valley conference recovering, I read books on science and technology!_' Chimchar exclaimed.

"Sni." '_Nothing personal. Just odd,_' Snivy said before sighing at the four. "Vy." '_Get outside: the old man doesn't like it when we crowd in here. He only lets Bulbasaur in here most of the time._'

The four obeyed, save Chansey, who was stopped by Chimchar.

"Char." '_We'll need a medic. We'll explain why later,_' he said before allowing her to leave.

Bulbasaur just laid down. "Bulbasaurrrr." '_Today is not my day,_' he groaned.

* * *

**Back at the Canyon**

* * *

Ash released Gabite, keeping Charmeleon for… emergencies.

Du-dun.

Both he and Gabite blinked - he hasn't even started digging yet, how was the music starting already?

Du-dun, Du-dun,Du-dun,Du-dun,Du-dun,Du-dun,Du-dun,Du-dun

The earth shook a bit, as a fin emerged from underneath… a yellow fin. And it was accompanied by a familiar sound.

"Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-GIBLE!" 'Nom-nom-nom-nom-nom-nom-nom-nom-nom-HELLO!' A yellow Gible poked out of the earth - leaping into the air and…

CHOMP.

Ash just looked at the Gible latched onto his head with a smile, though he was… confused.

Gibles were never yellow. The only Gible he ever saw that was yellow was a Shiny and that only had a yellow belly.

This one was almost completely yellow, the skin feeling more like a snake then a shark, with red feet and white hands.

"Hi." Ash said simply before Gabite just started sobbing.

"BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITE!" 'WHY?! WHY MUST LIFE MOCK ME?!' he sobbed at the sight.

"Gib?" 'What's his problem? You're like me: you can chomp,' said the Gible before Ash sighed and extended his arm. Gabite looked at him before Ash shrugged and Gabite chomped, though fortunately, he didn't break anything like last time.

Left a lot of tooth marks, though.

"Gabites bite harder then Gibles, little guy." Ash said, wincing in pain before Pikachu helped to cover the bleeding wounds with bandages. "He's been sad about it for a while."

"Gib…" 'I see…' said the little land shark before blinking and realizing something. "Gib?!" 'Wait, did you understand?!'

"Pika." 'Every. Damn. Time,' Pikachu muttered.

"Not my fault." Ash said. No one was to blame for that except Cyrus.

"...GIB!" 'That's so cool!' Gible cheered, as he leaped up…

CHOMP

"…your bite's not as strong as Gabite's was when he was a Gible…" Ash mused as the Gible warbled, but petted him.

"Gi-gi-gi-GIBLE!" 'Hehehe-t-that tickles!' Gible laughed… as electrical sparks sprouted from his body, and in the flash of a moment hit Ash with a Pikachu-grade shock.

Pikachu took the current in stride, but was just as in shock as Ash was, even if his trainer rode it out thanks to his unique (and subconscious) use of Aura.

"What the-Gible can't learn Thunder Fang!" Ash said, knowing the Land Shark and Mach Pokemon couldn't use any electric moves.

Gabite would know: he tried back in Sinnoh briefly before getting depressed and going back to Draco Meteor, much to Piplup's dismay.

"Bite!" 'You're no Gible!' Gabite said before trying to pry the yellow shark off his trainer's head. "Gabite!" 'Gibles can't do that!'

"Gib?" 'Yes we do,' Gible mused, tilting his head to the side.

"Gible… Gible!" A voice called out, as Ash turned to see a young black-haired man following the trail the Gible had left. "Come on… little buddy… you can't… go running off… like that…"

Ash looked at the Gible on his head and pried him off gently. "Is this your Gible?" he asked, Gible then looking at the man.

"Gible!" 'Kyoji!' said the land shark before using his horns to jet towards his head for a typical Gible greeting.

CHOMP!

"Gib-Gible-Gib~" 'I made a friend! And his Gabite is weird. It's purple and can't use electric attacks,' the land shark said.

"Bite!" 'I'll show you weird, you little abomination!' Gabite snapped before stalking toward the two.

"Whoa, hang on there little guy," Kyoji warned off Gabite, before looking at Ash. "Uh, is your Gabite alright? He looks angry…"

"Gible called him weird because he can't use electric-type attacks." Ash said. "Which isn't weird: Gabite's a dragon/ground-type. He can't learn them."

"Gible!" 'He really can understand me!' Gible cried. "Gib…" 'I can't mention Ransei now…' The yellow land shark then facepalmed to the best of his ability. "Ble…' 'D'oh.'

"What's Ransei?" Ash asked, confused now.

"Wait, what?" Kyoji looked around, confused and alarmed. "Who mentioned Ransei? I didn't hear anyone mention something called Ransei - did you hear someone talk about Ransei? I sure didn't…"

"Your Gible said it." Ash deadpanned. "He said, 'I can't mention Ransei now'."

The yellow Gible gaped at Ash, which made his trainer look at him in awe when he saw Gible staring.

"...you… you can talk… to Pokemon?" He asked, wide-eyed. "Like… not in that weird, telepathic way, like legit talk to Pokemon verbally and understand them completely?!"

"Yeah. Been able to for a long time." Ash answered shrugging. "A gift and a curse." At that, he looked at Pikachu.

"Pika?" 'What?' his starter asked.

"The harem jokes. That's why." Ash deadpanned. "They aren't funny."

"Pikapi." 'Ash, I WANT you to get together with SOMEONE that's healthy and willing,' Pikachu retorted. "Pika." 'If you were interested in someone like Hunter J-'

"No." Ash cut in. "Gray-haired and complete bitch isn't my type. I don't even know what my type IS."

"Pika." 'Shall I list off every girl you've travelled with?' Pikachu said, waggling his pika-eyebrows.

There was a thump sound, as they looked back at Kyoji - who had fallen to his knees, eyes wides and hands outstretched as if he were begging. "…TEACH ME!"

"…what? "

"Teach me PLEASE!" He begged, "I want to be able to talk to my Pokemon! I mean sure they're smart enough to understand me, but I can only guess at what they can say to me in return! The closest I can get to is when they use a computer and try to type things - but I want to be able to actually understand them! PLEASE teach me how to understand them!"

Ash was taken aback by this. "Uh, my method wasn't exactly intuitive…" he said, as 'Celebi dumping over fifty Pokemon minds into his head' had consequences other than understanding Pokemon.

His out-of-character surges of anger, meleconly, generally feeling like garbage… he didn't recommend it.

"Gible!" 'Teach him!' Gible said. "Gib!" 'I want to talk to him properly!'

"Bite." 'Please no,' asked Gabite.

"Seriously, please!" Kyoji asked, "I'd do anything to be able to talk to my Pokemon! Anything just name it!"

Ash was about to give an answer before something exploded and something unexpected made a familiar sound.

A roar Ash hadn't heard since Kalos.

* * *

Two minutes prior - further down the canyon

* * *

"You sure this is wise?" Anabel asked as she looked at the scientist and his assistants set up TNT in the rocks.

"Please, miss." said the paleontologist, his white hair and bald spot almost blinding in the sun. "We know what we're doing."

"Are you sure?" Misty added. "Just blowing up a wall of rock seems… unwise. We can use our Pokemon to help get the rock away from what you're looking for."

"Young lady, this is simply to get at a more rich layer." he said, cleaning his glasses. "None of this is actually viable material. We're going to blow it up, then after the dust settles, we'll start examining the layers underneath."

Janine remained silent, Gary attempting to flirt with her.

"Go away, Oak, or I will castrate you," she finally threatened. THAT made him back off before they took cover.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" one of the assistants yelled before blowing the explosives, unrooting the rock and sending it flying everywhere.

The fortunate part was, no one died.

The UNfortunate part was, something was disturbed underground.

As shown by the loud roar that was heard shortly afterwards.

"You know what you're doing," Misty muttered, deadpan. "Sure."

The rocks were tossed aside, revealing a form no one had seen outside the Pewter Museum in nearly 45 million years with two short arms, a massive head and body and a crown of feathers.

"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM!" roared the Pokemon, which Janine readily identified.

"Tyrantrum. A rare fossil outside Kalos." she said. "Dragon/rock-type."

"DRAGON?!" Misty yelled. "Oh, damn it! None of us have anything that can take on a dragon-type except Ash!"

* * *

(BGM: Final Fantasy VII Remake: Bombing Mission)

Ash rushed towards the dig site, finding something worse then an Aerodactyl.

"A Tyrantrum? That's just FUCKING great!" Ash cursed. "I was expecting Kabutops and Aerodactyl, not the Pokemon version of a T-Rex!"

Pikachu looked at Ash in horror. "Pi?" 'Did you just…' he asked.

"There's only so much I can take before just having to say it." Ash said before the form of the gray-purple rock/flying-type was seen flying out, the Aerodactyl roaring angrily.

Charmeleon's ball popped open as the Flame Pokemon forced his way out. "Char." 'About damn time.' he said before inhaling and spewing flame at the rock-type.

The pterosaur-like Pokemon dove at Charmeleon, Ash diving for cover before it swooped Charmeleon up, the happy fire-type gladly taking the fight to his nemesis.

Ash shifted rocks to get up, then saw something all too familiar and welcome.

A white egg with red and blue triangles spotted all over it.

"Hey, little guy." Ash said before picking up Togepi's egg, inspecting it for cracks. None were to be found, making him more happy.

A piece of his old life was in his hands, safe.

"DAC!" roared the Aerodactyl ferially, Charmeleon being thrown from his back and diving at Ash.

"MELEON!" 'NOT FUCKING HAPPENING!' Charmeleon roared. "CHAR!" 'YOU DO NOT TOUCH THEM!'

With that, Charmeleon started glowing, wings sprouting from his back as he grew larger, making his roar known as he finally turned from the red Charmeleon to the orange and more pissed off Charizard.

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!" 'GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY BROTHER, YOU ROCK-HEADED SON OF A BITCH!' Charizard roared as he dove in.

* * *

A dome-shaped Pokemon scuttled out of the rubble, using his almost invisible eyes to look around, making his way to the light. He then bumped into something...softer.

"Kabu?" '_What in the…_' said the trilobite before seeing what he bumped into.

A...red-headed being of some kind.

It screamed in terror, the Kabuto jumping back on the rocks, falling onto his back, flailing his legs haplessly.

"Kabuto!" '_HELP ME!_' cried the Kabuto.

* * *

Ash ducked as he ran from the Aerodactyl as it was slammed into by Charizard, the two flying dragons biting and clawing at one another.

"Now _that _is a big-ass Aerodactyl right there!" Kyoji shouted, keeping up with Ash - holding Gible in his arms while running.

"That Aerodactyl is trying to kill me AND this Togepi egg!" Ash snapped back, Pikachu having hopped off to help Charizard some time back, but not being able to get a clear shot. "Then there's the damned dragon-type on the ground!" Ash gestured to the roaring Tyrant Pokemon, running around after the science people.

"Runt." '_My sister is playing_.' said something unexpectedly. Ash looked to a pile of rocks, finding an oversized head resting on it. "Tyrunt." 'she doesn't get out much.'

"Sister?!" Ash exclaimed before the Aerodactyl was slammed into the canyon wall by Charizard before getting torched by his favorite attack.

"CHAR!" '_BURN, ASSHOLE_!' Charizard said as the pterosaur finally fell unconscious, but he was still ready to fight before seeing the Tyrantrum going after Misty. "CHAR!" '_GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER_!'

"Tyra!" '_But we're playing!_' The Tyrantrum said, as she chased after Misty. "Trum! Tyra!" '_Imma gonna getcha! You're gonna be it!_'

Ash watched dumbly as his now-fully evolved Kanto fire starter attempted to fight the Kalosian dinosaur.

"So, what are they saying?" Kyoji asked excitedly. Ash could hardly blame him: in his position, he would be giddy, too. He WAS in his position once in Johto.

'_Note to self: avoid that witch,_' he thought. "The Tyrantrum thinks this is a game of tag or something." he answered. "I don't think she realizes how dangerous she is."

"...very true, yet still very cute." Kyoji sighed, "Welp… I could go in there and draw some heat off of her? Maybe make her chase after me perhaps?"

"Go right ahead. I have to give her this egg anyways." Ash said before Gabite came down with… friends.

"Om." '_This is your brother?_' asked a blue squid in a shell.

"Kabu." '_He doesn't look like you._' the Kabuto said.

Ash groaned. This was going to be a LONG day.

* * *

Misty was not a parkour expert. She was a swimmer, not a runner.

But she did what she could on the gravel, really needing help.

"ASH! HELP ME!" she cried as she narrowly avoided the T-Rex's massive jaws.

"Tag!"

The T-Rex Pokemon blinked as it turned, seeing Kyoji standing next to her leg. He was smiling before he started running away. "Catch me if you can!"

"…TYRA!" The T-Rex roared joyfully as it began chasing after Kyoji.

Misty fell on her face, panting from exhaustion.

"Why...why doesn't standing still work?" she asked as she got her breathing back to normal.

"Binocular vision doesn't work that way?"

Misty looked up to see Ash, covered in rock dust and holding an egg, holding out his hand. "Here." he said, offering it.

She took it, the boy helping her to her feet but not wanting to let go after she was.

Ash blushed at what she was trying to do. "I...have something for you." he said before offering her the oddly-patterned egg.

Her mental self went apeshit for it. "_TOGEPI_!" she cried. "_My little baby, I am NEVER leaving you out of my sight again_!" with that, the 'ghost' looked at her real self. "Never _let him go_."

Misty blinked. What was that about?

"What is it?" Ash asked, wondering why Misty was pulling a Baltar all of a sudden.

"Oh, you know, my...ghost…" she trailed off.

"Yeah." Ash said, understanding. "You let Togepi go in Hoenn in the Togepi Kingdom. Sweetest Pokemon I know, but you had to-"

"I'm not letting Togepi go." Misty said, cutting him off.

That only made him smile, which made her feel all warm and fuzzy.

"_See, THIS is _half _the reason I want him to be our boyfriend_!" the mental projection declared. "_That and _we're _the only ones that can keep him out of trouble_!"

"Kabu."

Misty looked down to see the Kabuto again.

She promptly jumped screaming.

* * *

**90 minutes later**

* * *

"Runt." '_We were asleep for a WHILE,_' the little Tyrunt said as the team was cleaning up the mess, Charizard passed out on a rock. "Tyrunt." '_This was all green when I went to sleep._'

"You were in a cave." Ash said.

"Tyrunt." '_True, but the entire place was lined with ferns and the occasional tree._' the little Tyrunt said. "Ty?" '_What's the world like now?_'

"Too different to put in a single sentence." Ash said as Misty finally got used to the Kabuto, only taking an hour to get it through her head it was a water/rock-type, with the waterlouse sitting on her head.

Most of them were interested in the new world. The Aerodactyl was being carted off to the Safari Zone, where the new warden would take care of him and the Kabutops and Omustar just wanted to be left alone.

Tyrunt was interested in this 'Pokemon battle' thing. The other two, not so much, but agreed to be sent to the Oak Ranch if only to avoid battle.

Ash knew this was going to be a long day. And he still didn't know why he had a Shiny Chansey registered to his name.

* * *

Janine glared at Kyoji.

Kyoji started at Janine in confusion "Uh… is there a problem?"

"…why are you so interested in Ash?" She asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Huh?" Kyoji rose his eyebrow at that, "Uh… other than the fact that he can talk to Pokemon, and I really, _really _want to learn how he does that?" He shrugged. "Not much… I mean he seems like a nice guy, but for the record I don't swing that way so you can relax if he's your boyfriend or something."

Her glare only intensified. "He is my sworn lord, you fool," she said. "Many have expressed interest in him only to try and end his life. Make such an attempt, you will not survive it." That was reinforced by the sudden knife in her hand, held downward, but ready to flip to the thumb-side if needed.

"Wait, you're a ninja?" he asked.

"Janine of Fuschia," she answered. "Head of the Fuchsia Clan with the death of my father."

Kyoji stared at her for a moment… and she was surprised when he gave a bow to her. "Kyoji of Akamura," He said - speaking in a different language which caused Janine to blink in surprise. "Member of the Giretsu Reconnaissance forces… of the Imperial Ransei Army."

Janine's eyes widened as he said this "…Ransei still stands?" She whispered - speaking in the same language as his.

Kyoji smiled, nodding. "Ransei Banzai, Fuschia Janine," he said. "I'm one of many trained Shinobi deployed across the foreign regions to ascertain the situation of the world. Mainly to get back into contact with the ninja clans to restore our old information networks to help further that goal, and determine how Ransei can help the world… if it can at all."

"How is Ransei handling the Shadows?" She asked.

"Aside from a few aerial and aquatic Shadows that wander in, Ransei has been unaffected," Kyoji assured. "But it hasn't been easy… the 13 Provinces are always bickering, trying to decide if Ransei should open its borders with the Gaijin again, or to stay quiet and hope the Shadow situation eventually burns itself out… Me and other members of the Giretsu recon force are here to determine if Ransei _can _open borders and offer aid to the URN nations, and the rest of the world."

"It has been getting better." Janine said before looking at Ash, who was helping his Charizard with a massage on his back, given the dragonic Pokemon had only just evolved and fought a battle, he needed all the help he could get. "The heir of Jaemon has been found. Rota has been the only nation capable of purging the trait."

"Yes, and we're both well aware they don't exactly like Ransei." Kyoji replied. "Half the reason this plague EXISTS is because of their old empire. And blood does not an heir make."

Rota's rulers had lost their humility since Arron's death. While the homeland did not intentionally start the wars that consumed the mainland, their agents DID spark the flames. And once the Rotan nobility found out…

They still had a grudge, even after almost 800 years.

"He is different. He does not even want the crown." Janine retorted. "And...there is the fact that Pikachu of his is a Shadow Pokemon."

"...how the hell did he manage that…?" Kyoji muttered, glancing at the Pikachu in question.

"From what I've gathered, they're very close friends." She reasoned, "Enough that, while Pikachu goes through brief moments of rage, he has a level of control over himself…"

Kyoji let out a deep sigh "Well… at least he doesn't act like the royal family from way back…" he muttered. "And the Gaijin called _us _paranoid…"

"It was tense times… according to what records are left from back then," Janine shrugged, "We may never know _exactly _what sparked the conflict between Rota and Ransei, but its not like it matters now…"

"It does if they're still holding the grudge…" He muttered, "It will complicate relations with the other nations if Ransei tries to open up…"

"...so aside from learning how Ash talks to Pokemon and your mission, you hold no ill-will towards him?" Janine asked.

"None," He shook his head, "Even if he is the descended of Rotan royalty, no point in going after him for some 800 year grudge… if I did try anything, it would make mine and Ransei's mission all the harder…" he then paused, "In fact… if a member of the Ransei military _aided _their royal heir in his Pokemon journey, it might actually help fix relations…" he glanced at her. "…if you're willing to have me, Janine-sama."

Janine closed her eyes and sighed. "Bring it up with Ash. My only condition is that you tell me of the homeland." she said as she put her weapon away. "We have almost no records thanks to that pissy fit called the Cipher War."

"Or much of anything. No aircraft, no polymers, nothing that isn't over 300 years out of date…" Kyoji said, only getting a look from Janine. "Ok, shutting up."

* * *

"Char…" '_Why must everything hurt…_' Charizard moaned as Ash and Pikachu pounded out the kinks in his back.

Charizard was on an evolutionary high, then he stressed his new body to its' limits, which, given his new form, were rather… small.

Something to work on. And Ash didn't want to just return and transfer him back to the Ranch. He wanted him in better shape before he was sent home. Only with conditioning and workouts would he be back at his Johto League level.

"So… how's your Charizard doing?" Ash glanced up, noticing Kyoji approaching with Janine. "He doesn't look so hot right now…"

"Well, he _did _just evolve." Ash said as he slammed his fist on a particularly stubborn knot, Charizard not liking that but also seeing it needed to be done. "And went through a fight with a pissed off Aerodactyl AND playing tag with that Tyrantrum. Just wanted to make sure he was ok before I sent him back to the Oak Ranch in Pallet Town."

"Ohhh," Kyoji nodded, "Yeah, had to deal with something similar when my Charizard evolved… those final evolutions are always the most radical."

Ash chuckled nervously as he got down from the quasi-dragon's back. "Not looking forward to Garchomp." he said. Gabite was, he wasn't. Gabite wanted to be his tiny self again.

Oh, boy, could every old man and woman relate.

"Why not? Garchomps aren't that bad. Not as cute as Gibles-" Kyoji said, holding up his yellow land shark. "But they're not THAT bad."

"Yeah, they can be. That brings me back to one thing." Ash said as Pikachu used electroshock therapy on Charizard's back. "Why IS Gible yellow? The only Gible I've ever seen being yellow was shiny. And that yellow was only on his belly. Plus, they can't learn any electric-type moves."

"Yes they can!" Kyoji said before pulling out something that looked a lot like the Pokedex Serena used in Kalos, only more utilitarian. "Here." A Pokemon index appeared on a holographic screen, scrolling down to the familiar form of the land shark.

"_Gible, the Land Shark Pokemon. An electric/ground-type. Gible has specialized organs that allow it to generate electricity as it tunnels through the ground_." the knockoff Pokedex stated. "_Gibles are known to give friendly bites as well as shocks_." With that, Kyoji was smug, challenging Ash to say anything different.

He pulled out his Pokedex and flipped it open, getting an amused laugh from Kyoji. "G_ible, the Land Shark Pokemon. A dragon/ground-type._" the Porygon-inhabited device said. "_Gible normally sleep in caves warmed by geothermal heat and live in small colonies called 'towns'. Gibles also normally greet friends and family with a friendly bite_."

The foreigner blinked as he processed that. "…Well, my Gible's from… you know." he said sheepishly. "And they've been there for thousands of years. Evolution branches all over the place. I mean, you've probably never heard of Alolan formes."

"Actually, I have. Dragon-type Exeggutor," Ash said, as the idea of an excessively tall Exeggutor that was also a dragon-type instead of a psychic…

Well, as far as Ash was concerned, Alolan ones were mutants over the actual ones from Kanto. He wouldn't mind catching one, but hey.

"Huh," Kyoji said. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask…" '_Oh, NO._' Ash thought, given Kyoji's eagerness to learn how to understand Pokespeech. "Mind if I come along? I mean, I'm not from around here and I REALLY want to learn how you understand Pokemon. Were you raised by them or something?"

The unwitting prince thought it over. On one hand, Kyoji would never give him a moment's peace while he tried to learn understanding Pokemon talk.

On the other hand… Ash glanced to Misty and Anabel for a brief second. Maybe having him tag along would get the girls someone better then him. As far as he knew, Kyoji's only flaw was being super-curious and eager to learn something that could not be easily taught. Maybe he could get Anabel to date him. Maybe even get Misty off of needing him to keep from having panic attacks.

"…Sure." Ash said carefully.

"Oh sweet!" He grinned, "Don't worry - I _won't _bug you 24/7 about the whole Poke-talk thing, but I _will _be paying attention to see if I can crack this code!"

"Gib!" '_New Friends!_' The Gible jumped and…

CHOMP! *Warble-Warble*

Ash chuckled before the Gible began sparking. Ash quickly hugged Gabite before the yellow land shark zapped him, minimizing the zappage.

* * *

Entry 33: Fossil Pokemon

While Pokemon have existed since time immemorial, with the first Pokemon being none other than the Creator Arceus, who then hatched the Creation Trio, Lake Guardians and Mew, not every Pokemon species has survived to the present day.

While most animals are extinct thanks to Pokemon overpowering and outcompeting them (with few domesticated examples still existing) Pokemon do become endangered and go extinct: Lapras and Corsola are examples of the former.

The latter are so-called 'Fossil Pokemon', which are often revived from existing material, usually badly damaged and thus useless to science. Examples are Kabuto, Omynite and Aerodactyl, though the most famous examples are Tyrantrum and Shieldon.

Recently, an incident at Grandpa Canyon as well as expeditions to the Tree of Beginning (the latter ended with the deaths of the recon team at the hands of _exceedingly_ pissed off Regi Golems) have proven that these 'fossil' Pokemon are in fact, still alive, but VERY much endangered.

Galar has recently begun using their fossils to make hybrids, but the scientific community shuns them for this.

* * *

Entry 34: Ranseian Form Pokemon

With extreme isolation, Pokemon can turn into different forms and types, with the most famous examples being from Alola, with Exeggutor and Vulpix. Ransei, too, is rumored to have differing types of Pokemon.

The only confirmed sighting of a Pokemon from Ransei is a Gible, with snake-like skin and a mostly yellow body, compared to the violet of normal Gibles and has been observed to use electric attacks whereas normal Gibles cannot. This is due mainly to Ransei's (purportedly, according to damaged documents) colder than normal winters forcing them to change.

Other Ranseian Pokemon Formes are unknown.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Before you scream 'fakemon', **_**use**_** your heads. Evolution is a right BITCH and can work either **_**slow**_** as hell or **_**fast**_** as hell. Look at our species, for Gible's sake: we evolved _insanely_ fast from a geological standpoint. Pokemon seem to favor the latter over the former and honestly, if we ever see Ransei outside of **_**Conquest**_**, I would not be surprised to see a few alt-forms after Arceus knows how long. Cases in point to support this: Alola and Galar.**

**Takeshi Yamato: True enough. And it's going to be fun seeing the other potential Ransei Formes we come up with. Well, that Jorn comes up with, mostly.**

**117Jorn: Yeah, the whole Ransei nation is an idea I came up with for the story. And while it was also a means to help introduce Ransei into the wider world via Kyoji… I was **_**really **_**inspired by Alola and thought 'hey, I wonder if Ransei could have alt-forms of Pokemon? And what'd be a good example?' …so I thought of our favorite Landshark… and thus… Pac-Gible was born.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Pac-Gible?**

**117Jorn: He's round and yellow. See?**

***Ransei Gible goes by, making a very waka-waka-like noise in Gible form chasing after a Haunter***

**Ron the True Fan: And while it would be interesting to see what he could come up with, other than alt-forms that could, logically, exist… we're only using official material. On that note, I have seen what Galar has spawned. I am **_**disgusted**_**. Not sad. **_**Disgusted**_**. I get it: it's Poke-Britain. But I HATE the Crystal Palace sculptures and would **_**not **_**be sad to see them be destroyed.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Right. Well, we'll deal with that when we get to it, I guess.**

**Ron the True Fan: (mutters about the Bone Wars before Pac-Gible CHOMPS) …Shit.**

**ZAP! (THUD!)**

**Ja Ne!**

**(Ron the True Fan: ...Ow…)**


	23. Chapter 22: Strange World

**Ron the True Fan: I know, I know, we've been dumping nothing but filler. Padding out the time between the last gym and the League isn't EASY. Fortunately, everything is connected. (WHACK!) I am NOT a conspiracy theorist, damn it: that was just saying the fic's events are all related SOMEHOW.**

**117Jorn: It's not a conspiracy - it's creating an expansive story that connects all branches. **

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah. We're basically making sure all the filler actually makes sense and fills a proper role.**

* * *

**Route 19 South - 0558 hours local time - Day 71 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

Kyoji had learned many things about Ash Ketchum in the last five days.

One of which was that he placed absolute trust in his Pokemon, to the point where his Pikachu was allowed to supervise training of his team, which spoke _volumes _as Pikachu was a confirmed Shadow Pokemon.

Another was that he REALLY understood Pokespeech, having a conversation with Pikachu, his Natu, Kyoji's Charizard and Gible… you name it, there was an actual conversation.

Another was that he kept… secrets. Not his royal ancestry, something… different. Elusive.

But the most annoying thing was that he had two girls with him (and someone that had sworn the Absolute Vow, which was a minor alteration of the Golden Vow in Ransei, no less, effectively making it a one-sided marriage if he so chose) that were interested in him romantically and he wasn't acting on any of it! In fact, he was trying to matchmake one of them with HIM.

Fortunately for Kyoji, neither of them were interested, but didn't begrudge Ash this for some unsaid reason.

But as he got up, he snuck out of bed, finding Ash up and about early as sin as usual.

"How does he do this?" Kyoji muttered in Ranseian before following him without being noticed.

"-don't see why you didn't just teleport them here." the prince muttered at something in front of him.

"Bi." said whatever it was. Kyoji realized it was a Pokemon and was hit with a mild pang of jealousy at not understanding Pokespeech.

'_What kind of Pokemon is it?_' he wondered, as he snuck in closer - putting his Shinobi training to the test. He poked his head out of a hedge… and his eyes bugged out.

Ash Ketchum… was talking to Celebi.

Fucking. _CELEBI_ \- A _LEGENDARY_. No, not a legendary, a MYTHICAL. Even _Legendaries _were seen more often!

His mouth dropped open, but remained quiet as he watched the two talk… even though he was only getting half of the conversation.

"You said they're with Serena; couldn't you just teleport them here?" Ash asked. "I mean, you are a psychic-type."

"Celebi, bi." replied the Time Travel Pokemon, crossing her arms.

"An abuse of your powers?" Ash asked incredulously. "I'm in this situation partly because of you to _begin _with!"

"Bi!" snapped Celebi.

"Ok, it's mostly Cyrus' fault, but seriously, I would like to have everyone here so I can get to work at, you know, SAVING THE UNIVERSE from that emo bastard?" Ash said sarcastically.

"Pikapi, Pika." said Ash's Pikachu, nodding with his trainer.

Kyoji tilted his head. Cyrus? As in the Team Galactic leader? And _saving the universe?_ '…_the fuck did I stumble into?_'

_Du-dun_. "Gab."

Kyoji looked down, and noticed a shark-like head poke out of the ground under him. "Oh, sup Gabite." He nodded. "So… you know what's going on here?"

"Bite."

"…I _really _need to learn Poke-speech…"

"Kyoji?" He glanced up, and of course Ash had heard him - as he and Celebi turned in his direction.

"Sup," He waved, glancing between them and Celibi. "So uh… you… know Celebi?"

Ash sighed. "I can't have a conversation with you _without _someone finding out, can I?" he asked Celebi.

"Bi." said the Mythical, seemingly sufferingly.

"…to be fair, I only heard half since I can't talk to Pokemon," He reminded him "Unfortunately… only that somehow the… Team Galactic leader is responsible for… ending the universe? Or did I miss something?"

Ash sighed "Well… basically, yeah…" he shook his head, "Well, if you're traveling with us, you'd find out eventually… the others have… long story short: the universe died in an original timeline because Cyrus killed Giratina by getting Palkia and Dialga to kill him… he had some stupid plan about recreating the universe or some dumb bullshit, and it ended the universe… but thanks to Celebi, me and my Pokemon were sent back in time to prevent it from happening again… but things are… different…"

"…like?"

"Everything here is so much more… violent," Ash shook his head. "The world was simpler, pokemon were far more friendly, this whole… shadow thing wasn't nearly as big a problem as they are here, politics wasn't all that worrisome…"

"…normally, I'd call a person crazy for saying that," Kyoji muttered, "But the fact _Celebi_ is nodding her head is telling me you are being truthful…" he sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "…holy shit…"

"Yeah. And I have to keep him from doing it AGAIN." Ash said. "She just came along to tell me that the girl I'm now engaged to has all my Pokemon from Kalos and Alola, except for Lycanroc and Fletching, but won't teleport them here."

"Celebi." said Celebi.

"What? How do you not know teleport?! You teleport around all the time!" Ash cried.

"Bi."

"What in the name of Arceus is '_selective __time dilation_'?!"

Kyoji decided it would be best if he waited this out.

* * *

**90 minutes later**

* * *

Misty and Anabel were awake and Janine had seemingly been up all night, but kept her distance.

"He will try again." Janine said, referring to Ash's refusal to find love with a partner. Kyoji groaned as he remembered that disaster two days ago. His other outfit STILL smelled like clams.

"Haven't you told him that he's _the _best choice for them?" he groused.

"My place is to ensure his safety and, if he so desires and needs, the continuation of his family line." Janine said with a mild blush. "And telling him this would be beyond counterproductive."

Kyoji fixed her with a stare. "What," he stated.

"I am of the opinion he is… mildly insane," she said. "His experiences in the other timeline, combined with the way he came back, would simply drive many to suicide."

"…that actually explains a bit," Kyoji nodded, "I mean… he's not a maniac, for sure… but if what he's told me is true, he must have a _MAJOR _case of PTSD at the very least… watching your whole universe literally end like that… I know I wouldn't be a ray of sunshine after that…"

"He does not feel worthy of love as a result of this and his abandonment by his father," she added. "He fears becoming his father and thus… the disaster that was 48 hours ago." Kyoji groaned at that, muttering his outfit was ruined. "Entertain his attempts. They keep him stable and focused on the job at hand: to end this fool Cyrus. Once he is dead… we will discuss his worth afterward."

"And what do the girls say about this?" Kyoji asked, curious about these 'fake dates' he would be forced into.

"They consider you mildly amusing, but Misty has a psychological need for Ash's presence that you cannot fulfill and you cannot give Anabel the shield she requires from invasive telepaths to recover and grow." the kunoichi said. "They are willing to play along, so long as you know your place."

"…Was that supposed to be intimidating?" Kyoji said with a raised eyebrow.

"It is a family trait." Janine said with a bit of indifference.

Kyoji shrugged "Sure, I'll play ball," he said, "I knew that it's all pretend to begin with… it's obvious you girls like him - unlike me, he has a chance for a legitimate love life… I'm kinda jealous if I'm being honest."

* * *

**Oak Ranch - 1003 hours local time**

* * *

"Bulba." '_The gecko doesn't give up, does he?_' Bulbasaur said as Treecko was under attack by EVERY flying-type Ash had and fighting them off relentlessly, Swellow getting a concussion from a particularly hard Pound and Noctowl having to tagteam with Pidgeot just to keep from getting his head caved in.

All to Bulbasaur's benefit: he was planning on shipping them together anyways.

Regardless, Treecko was battered, bruised and exhausted. Yet the little bastard just WOULDN'T lay down.

The source of this was, of course, Charizard, who, despite being hurt, sore and in need of a massive slab of meat, was exceedingly smug over finally getting back to normal and was actually on the mend to the point where he was practicing with his new body.

Treecko was not happy with this. Thus, the all-flying corps were basically recruited into beating the shit out of him, not that they weren't doing their fair share of beating.

"Bulba!" '_That's enough, Treecko. I'm calling this off now_!' Bulbsaur declared.

"Treecko!" 'Fuck you, _Bulbasaur_!' the gecko retorted, unwilling to stop as Pidgeot and Noctowl used Steel Wing on him while he was distracted in an effort to knock him down.

As this was Treecko, that only made him more mad.

"Tree!" '_I beat Darkrai, I helped save Hoenn from the idiocy of Teams Aqua and Magma, I WILL NOT BE THIS WAY!_' he yelled before spores fell on him, his nerves no longer responding.

"Bulbasaur." '_I'll blame that one on an adrenaline high. But you're going to rest now._' Bulbasaur said gently as his Stun Spore worked its' magic and paralyzed Treecko.

Treecko's bloodshot eyes echoed his anger and refusal to give in as he broke free.

Ash didn't need a tiny tree gecko licking his eyeballs: he needed a towering powerhouse! He needed him as a Sceptile.

A vine wrapped around him before he was slammed head first into the ground, making him blind to everything.

"Bay!" '_That's enough, Grovyle!_' Bayleef said, being the one to slam him into the ground.

He got his head free of the dirt, only to see large blade-like leaves sticking out of his arms and a long flume on his head, not to mention he was much larger.

He evolved?

Well, it was a pathetic way, but it would do, as he prepared for round two, only for his body to fail him. But as his spirit was unconquered, it was no loss.

"Bulba!" "Bay!" '_MEDIC!_' both grass-types called, the Shiny Chansey sighing as she got over to the moronic Hoennic grass-type.

* * *

**Route 19 - near the Pacific coast - 1121 hours local time**

* * *

Ash had to explain rather clearly the reasons they didn't go to Maiden's Peak and had to ask his Gible to make him see reason.

Apparently, bribing with a friendly belly rub was enough.

"Traitor…" Kyoji muttered while hanging off Gabite's back.

Regardless, they were going straight to Cinnabar. Or as straight as they could, given the ocean and Ash not wanting to leave anyone behind. If he really wanted to, he would have transferred in Pidgeot and just flew to the damned volcano.

His Pokedex beeped the beep Ash recognized as a new capture.

"This better not be some Ratatta smacking another Safari Ball I left behind." he muttered as he pulled out the Pokedex.

He didn't mind as much anymore, given everyone was safe, but still, he would like to capture Pokemon the traditional way of encounter, battle and capture.

He flipped it open, only to get a nice surprise.

* * *

**Cinnabar Island - 1013 hours local time**

* * *

Ghetsis rubbed his eyepatch, bemoaning the loss of his eye to that bitch Delia over 25 years ago.

He was an old man, forced to rely on a powered exoskeleton… borrowed from the Unovan military just to keep himself mobile. Now the damn thing had a built in life support system for the 78 year old megalomaniac.

Anything to secure his rule.

The Genesect were being implanted with their cannons, each one twitching in pain as they had the weapons grafted into their bodies. Not that Ghetsis cared for their well-being: only their power.

Which brought him to the other subject: Project M2. The Rockets applied their name 'Mewtwo' to the damn thing, which fit well enough. The Plasma crews were injecting the clone with a large amount of stony material clearly meant for Mega Evolution with the creature into it, the feline flinching as they did.

"This is unwise, Dennis," said Ghetsis' host.

"_Don't_ call me that. Your sister does that too much," the older man spat. "And so? With a Mega Mewtwo, our plans for conquest are simpler. No Pokemon is a match for this being at our beck and call."

Giovanni rained on the parade with one word. "Arceus," Ghetsis turned to the 51 year old man.

"The Creator has _long _since abandoned this world, Giovanni!" the leader of Team Plasma yelled. "It is man's turn to be the master."

"Do not be surprised if Arceus actually dains to show up and ruin your grand plans of conquest," Giovanni snarked. "I know better than to tempt fate. How many times have you had to rebuild Team Plasma? Four? Five?"

"Two and _both _were your sister's fault! You _owe _me, you Kantoan fool," Ghetsis spat.

"_That_ is the only reason you were even _allowed _here. Once your work is done, return to Unova." Giovanni ordered, Ghetsis' remaining eye boring on the Rocket Boss. "Don't bother. My sister is more intimidating then you could _ever _be," With that, Giovanni left the lab.

Ghetsis huffed, looking back at his weapons.

His. No one elses'. He would use them to take over Unova, then the Decolores, then the Ranger States, then Kalos… and for last, Kanto and the former URN. Let Giovanni know he was coming.

He wouldn't be able to stop him.

* * *

**RMS **_**Aquitania **_**\- 0825 hours local time**

* * *

"Goo." '_Fuck this_.' Goomy declared before sliming his way over to Serena, who was grooming Fennekin before tapping her leg with a squishy antenna.

Serena looked down to see Goomy. "Oh, hello, Goomy." she said with some interest. "What is it?"

Goomy jabbed a floppy antenna like a finger at a drawer. One that happened to have Pokeballs in it.

"Goo." '_Ball me. I can't stay here,_' Goomy said, knowing she wouldn't understand the speech, but the intent.

It took her a moment to get the message as she pondered it. "Oh! You want me to send you to Ash!" she said, her voice happily cracking somewhat at the mention of his trainer's name.

"Froak." '_You couldn't wait?_' Froakie asked as he and Litten played a game of Go. Naturally, Froakie was winning.

"Goomy." '_I've gotten as far as I can here! I NEED Ash to evolve!_' Goomy declared as Fennekin jumped off her trainer's lap, Serena going for the Pokeball drawer, withdrawing a device to put in Ash's trainer code.

"Let's see… Four… One…" she said, trying to remember before her expression turned from perplexed to annoyed to melancholy to pondering fast enough that they barely noticed it and had they not had experience in the matter, they wouldn't've. "Zero… Zero… Zero… One… Nine… Nine… Seven."

After that, she input the code on the device, then slid the Pokeball into it, registering it to Ash before just dropping it to the floor without a care.

Goomy blamed that on one of her… moods before just making his way over by leaping to it.

"Goo?" '_Want to come?_' Goomy asked, Froakie shaking his head as Litten made a move, thinking he beat the frog.

"Froak." '_I will only accept Ash being the one to use the ball,_' Froakie said before making a move that counteracted Litten's victory. "Kie." '_It's a cultural thing._'

Goomy shrugged before tapping the ball and getting sucked in as energy, then teleporting away.

* * *

**Route 19 Coast - 1122 hours local time**

* * *

"What in the name of the Creator is a Goomy?" Kyoji asked, still on Gabite's back (Ash said Gabite called it practice) as Ash held a Pokeball that usually held Natu or Pidgeot.

"This!" Ash said happily before tossing the ball up, unleashing a small, blob-like Pokemon with four antennae, green spots on his cheeks, beady eyes and a weird mouth.

"Goo!" said the purple blob as it fully materialized, happily climbing on Ash and latching to his head.

"Goomy, I know you like doing that, but seriously!" Ash said happily.

"Gooooooo!" The Goomy said happily, nuzzling itself upon Ash's head.

"…Adorable, but my head's reserved for two," Kyoji said - as he glanced up, as a green bird was currently sitting on his head like it was a nest.

"Natu."

Goomy sat happily on Ash's head, Kyoji still wondering what the hell it WAS. There was nothing like it in Ransei.

"Goo!" cried the Goomy before making it rain. Literally, using Rain Dance.

"…I didn't need that." Ash deadpanned as he was rained on.

"So… what is he?" Kyoji asked. It had to be a water-type or something. It was the only thing that made sense.

"Goomy's a dragon-type." Ash said. Kyoji stared at the blob. Then he looked at Gabite. Then back at Goomy. This cycle continued as he tried to process this.

"HOW?!" he finally yelled. "How is that blob a _dragon_?! It's a BLOB! Dragons are big, powerful...Like Charizard!"

"You know that's not a dragon-type, right?" Ash asked, Goomy looking somewhat annoyed as his trainer pulled out the Pokedex.

"_Goomy, the Soft Tissue Pokemon. A dragon-type_." the machine said. "_Regarded as the weakest of all dragons, though fellow Kalosian dragon Noibat contends for that title with having the flying-type as well. Goomy's body is 90% water, designed to absorb body blows_."

Kyoji continued to stare. "He's a BLOB!" he repeated.

Ash then pulled out the entry for the next two stages. "_Sliggoo, the Soft Tissue Pokemon and evolved form of Goomy. Dragon-type_." the Pokedex said, Kyoji seeing a much larger snail-like Pokemon before changing to a bipedal Pokemon with the general look of a dragon, but all the looks of a Goomy. "_Goodra, the Dragon Pokemon and final form of Goomy. Dragon-type classified as 'pseudo-legendary'_."

"...okay, Goodra at least _looks _Dragon-like," Kyoji relents, shaking his head. "Fuck, the rest of the world is weird…"

Goomy then made it rain over Kyoji, making him wet before Goomy had an evil look in his eyes that only… Gible…

"Oh crap." he said before Goomy used Thunder on him, zapping him heavily.

"Goo," said Goomy, Kyoji getting the feeling he really needed to learn about all the weird shit in the world.

* * *

Half an hour later, Goomy was fighting with Gabite, Kyoji laying on the ground as the two fought.

He learned a few things about this strange Pokemon: one, it was from Kalos. Two, it liked being wet. And three DAMN could it take a hit.

Gabite used Dual Chop on the blob, but he did not faint. He was Draco Meteored of all things and all that came of it was Goomy coming out of the crater in one piece.

"I am beginning to think that thing can take a _nuke _to the face and come out smiling." Kyoji muttered, still sore over the Thunder.

"Only the Creation Trio can do that." Janine said as she watched the Goomy. "It knows poison attacks. A countermeasure against fairy-types, no doubt."

Kyoji noted that, but dragons were known to be super-flexible anyways.

Goomy then unleashed the Bide from hell on Gabite, sending him flying into a tree and destroying it, making the land shark regret going on the offensive.

"Goo!" cheered the Goomy before it started glowing and growing, evolving.

"That Goomy is going to have a hard time." Janine muttered. "At this stage, it's blind."

"What? That's a horrible handicap for a second-stage Pokemon!" Kyoji said as Goomy finished evolving into Sliggoo.

"Sli!" cheered the larger Soft Tissue Pokemon, though he didn't move before Ash's Pokedex (left in Janine's care) put out an entry.

"_Sliggoo, the Soft Tissue Pokemon and evolved form of Goomy_." it said. "_Sliggoo are blind, using a sonar sense to navigate. Sliggoo are known to be loners in the wild, as their mucus slowly digests anything coated in it. Regardless, they are still friendly creatures_."

"TMI." Kyoji said, not wanting to know that. Where the hell was Ash, anyways? He left Natu to watch over the training session.

* * *

**45 minutes later**

* * *

Apparently, Ash was trying to secure passage to the Seafoam Islands and had to argue with someone to avoid getting caught in some surfing competition.

"Sli!" cried the Sliggoo, Gabite still sobbing over losing.

"Come on, Gabite, you won't evolve that quickly." Ash admonished, correcting Kyoji's mistaken thought as he returned. "I wasn't expecting you to evolve so soon, Sliggoo. Were you training the entire time?"

"Goo!" said the snail dragon.

"Well, you should head to the Ranch. Say hi to everyone," Ash said, Sliggoo nodding in agreement before Ash returned him to his ball and used the Pokedex to transfer him out.

"You have a _weird_ life, Ash." Kyoji said, his Natu seemingly nodding in agreement.

"Better than being bored." Ash said.

Kyoji could not disagree. He thought this mission would be boring.

Now? It was just getting interesting.

* * *

**RMS **_**Queen Victoria**_ **\- En Route from Unova to Kanto - 2314 hours local time**

* * *

She stared out at the blackened sea, sitting on the boat deck.

She knew why she was here. Just a token representative from Opelucid, to 'show the unity of Unova'.

In reality, she was told to stay put and keep her mouth shut while on the ship and to be nice and public otherwise.

Why, oh why, did she have to have dark skin? Why did she have to have the blood of Orre in her veins?

"Ax," said a green, tusked little dragon as he nudged her.

"Are you cold?" she asked the little dragon-type, her effective starter.

"Axew," said Axew, snuggling into her baggy shirt to steal some warmth from her.

Her dark red eyes looked down at the dragon as she gave in to his demand, keeping him in her shirt to keep him out of the elements.

"Well, never let it be said that Iris Arajar didn't take care of her Pokemon," she said as she prepared to go back to her cabin.

Her Emolga and Drilbur were probably worried sick.

* * *

Entry 34: Sliggoo

The soft tissue Pokemon of Kalos are arguably some of the most dangerous to come out of the region, as these kill without even _trying_.

Team Rocket has lost many handlers to the digestive mucosa of Sliggoo, making Giovanni forbid their keeping in the Team.

While native to Kalos, there is a small colony in Alola, though it is restricted to the outskirts of a deserted settlement.

Ash Ketchum's Sliggoo was recently sighted-(FILE CORRUPTED)

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Filler, filler, MORE filler. But the filler serves its' purpose and that just means I can put these out on a WEEKLY basis now.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Also, Goomy has evolved and is now officially in Ash's team.**

**Ron the True Fan: He's also not LEAVING. There will be **_**no **_**releases in this universe, thank you VERY much. Also, Iris. Remember the 1850s to 1960s in the US? That's the general situation in Unova. She has NOT had a fun life. Making up somewhat for the bullshit she slammed onto Ash in the early half of the Unova series. Karma's a bitch and **_**I **_**am the delivery man.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Heh. You have a point. Honestly, I didn't really watch the Unova arc. Or watch the anime consistently in general after… I think the last I watched consistently was _Advanced Battle_.**

**Ron the True Fan: Don't worry, Nagaishippers, I am **_**well **_**aware she got better over time. That is the only reason I am even letting her in the harem after the bullshit that was the early half of **_**Best Wishes**_**. Consider that confirmation for you Tropers. The fuck were the writers SMOKING during Generation 5?**

**Takeshi Yamato: No idea, though it's probably the same thing the guys who wrote the plots for the latest **_**Trek **_**and **_**Wars **_**movies were (AKA 'Lens Flare Incorporated Presents Stuff Blowing Up And Stuff IN SPACE! The Trilogy' and 'Let's Stealth Reboot **_**Star Wars**_ **And Hope No One Notices When We Screw It Up').**

**Ron the True Fan: (Eye twitch before Natu begins pecking) Know what, fuck it. WORLD EATERS, GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE! WE'RE RAZING THOSE PLACES TO THE GROUND! (12th Legio Astartes forms up for a bit of asswhooping)**

**Ja Ne!**


	24. Chapter 23: Land of Cold

**Takeshi Yamato: …Did you really have to use the World Eaters on them?**

**Ron the True Fan: YES. The only reason they're not doing the usual nonsense is because they fear what I'LL do to them more than their Primarch or so-called 'god' will. (Offices of the idiots responsible for **_**STD **_**and the recent **_**Star Wars**_ **stupidity burn in the distance) I also gave them **_**motivation**_**.**

**117Jorn: What kind of motivation?**

**Ron the True Fan: Basically, I said I'd talk Games Workshop into giving those idiots the rights to make a live-action **_**40K **_**movie if they didn't help me dole out revenge.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Well, that seems doable. Definitely motivated them.**

* * *

**Route 19 - Kanto Pacific Coast - 0931 hours local time - Day 72 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

Ash's idea of booking passage was clear to see once they arrived at the jetty.

"We have to PROTECT the ferry?" Misty asked, looking at the ocean waters between them, the expectant looks on the passenger's faces and of course, remembering that this was the only way to Cinnabar without splitting up. Which was mostly what Misty and Anabel wanted: Janine didn't give a damn, Kyoji had no opinion on the matter and Ash…

Well, he had to think of everyone.

"Well, the captain said there was a school of Shadow Tentacool led by a Shadow Tentacruel," he said, explaining what the agreement was. "And that's kinda… shut down travel."

"It usually does," Janine mused. "So, you offered our services to protect the ferry for travel?"

"He wasn't taking money," Ash said sheepishly. "Then Pikachu spoke up and…"

"Pikachu." '_Electric-type for the win,_' Pikachu said, summing up the situation as the captain glared at them from the wheelhouse.

"I think he wants us on board." Anabel said softly.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kyoji asked, Ash shaking his head in amusement.

'Kids.' he thought, legitimately able to call them that.

After all, he was in his early thirties, even if his body wasn't.

* * *

"_All passengers, this is your captain speaking,_" the captain said about ten minutes after the ferry left, en route to the Seafoam Islands. "_We are finally en route to Seafoam. Be advised, I had to be bribed to take you along on this by skilled trainers thanks to the massive amount of jellyfish infesting these waters. And before anyone protests, the guy that bribed me had six badges from the Top Eight. The rest of you probably don't have even one from the minors._"

"Cheery," Misty muttered, her Starmie scanning the waters with Anabel's Natu.

"Well, it is true," Kyoji said as Ash's Pikachu made the rounds around the boat with his trainer, who was keeping an eye out for Tentacruel.

"Natu." '_Type-advantage won't be enough, hat-man,_' Natu said, hopping on the guard rail. "Tu-Na." '_These are Shadow Pokemon with numbers._'

"And that's why we're going to hit them with psychic and electric power." Ash said. "Against one, they might overcome. But we've got both, with Kyoji's Gible and Pikachu, they'll get zapped into submission and Natu and the psychics will smack them around. Mind over matter, right?"

Anabel looked at him from her position at the rear of the ferry. "That's not how psychic-types handle poison-types, Ash," she said. "They destabilize the poison within the Pokemon themselves, momentarily making their own toxins toxic to them."

Misty looked at Anabel worryingly, to which the lavender-haired psychic blushed and looked away. "Sabrina taught me that before I learned she was going to take over my body like some parasite." she said.

The water bubbled near the ship, Pikachu hitting it with an overpowered thundershock to make it jump and reveal itself, becoming known as a Shadow Tentacool, which was then hit with a telekinetic Confusion by Starmie, the poison in its' body being turned against it before the TK field slammed it into the water, rendering it unconscious.

"Gible!" '_More jellys!_' he said before opening his mouth and using Thunderbolt like it was Flamethrower, zapping one Tentacool out of the water after another, leaving them for the Natus to deal with. "Gib!" '_Zap!_'

In Ash's younger days, he'd say that was cool, but he'd seen more impressive things in his life.

The boat rocked as a massive jellyfish-like monster surfaced, two jeweled orbs on the top complimenting soulless eyes while the passengers ran into the enclosed spaces of the ferry.

"Tentaaaaaacruel," the Shadow Pokemon yelled before latching onto the aft end of the ship, wrapping tentacles around the railings, making the ship lurch backwards, the passengers panicking inside.

"_Hey! Do your jobs and get that fucking thing off my boat!_" the captain yelled over the PA.

"We're working on it!" Ash said before Pikachu used thunderbolt on the kraken, the Shadow Pokemon flinching but refusing to let go.

A pop and hiss was heard before the Tentacruel noticed the rain hitting his head, a small raincloud over his corrupted top.

"Sli." '_Gotcha, bitch._'

Ash looked to see Sliggoo, having released himself, charging up.

"Pikachu, Sliggoo, Thunder!" Ash ordered, knowing two would be enough to end this thing. And maybe the water would zap the others into compliance.

"PIKA!" Pikachu cried, sending lightning skyward, which Sliggoo echoed, homing in on the raincloud hovering over the giant jellyfish Pokemon, which only realized the folly of what it had done on impact, the lightning leaving heavy burns on his leathery skin, frying nerves and paralyzing the Shadow Pokemon.

The lightning bolts also passed into the sea, the salt water assisting the conductivity and electrocuting everything within almost a kilometer of the ferry.

And the only things that surfaced were Tentacool and Tentacruel.

"_Sweet Palkia!_" the captain said from the ship's bridge over the PA. "_That's the entire school!_"

"Hope you enjoyed that, Captain!" Misty shouted. "We sure as hell didn't!"

"_Hey, that's over two dozen Shadow Pokemon floatin' in the water, girly! I'll call in the Navy: they'll fish the little bastards up and real with them,_" the captain said. "_Nice work, kid! You and yours can ride this thing any day!_"

Ash chuckled as he looked out to sea, wondering where the Sea Temple was.

He would have to deal with it when he returned to Kanto after Hoenn. Though honestly, he'd just like to blow it up.

Manaphy might be sad, but it was enough to keep it away from that asshole Captain Phantom AND it would prevent him from nearly dying AGAIN.

Drowning was _not_ fun.

* * *

**Seafoam Islands - 1147 hours local time**

* * *

"Gabite…" '_Send me home. It's COLD,_' Gabite asked as he shivered in the wasteland that was Seafoam West.

In the original timeline, this was home to a booming tourist industry. Now… well, another reason to add to Ash's growing list of reasons to hate this timeline.

It was COVERED in snow and ice, with only a small jetty at one end with a sign on it reading 'Boat to Cinnabar from the west port: 5 PM'.

"Well, _that's _dandy," Misty said, pointing at the ferry. "And we're not going back with them."

The majority of the passengers were actually staying with the ship for a quick ride over to Porta Vista, which was two hours away by boat, apparently.

"The other side of the island also has a dock according to this map." Anabel said, holding up a map of the island. "But the only way through is…"

"Though that cave." Ash finished, having done this song and dance before too many times to count. "It's _always _dark caves."

"Biiiiiiiite…" '_Send me home: this place is too cold!_' Gabite asked, jumping around to keep warm.

"Gib?" '_It's not that bad,_' Gible said. "Gible!" '_I just need my hat and I'm ok!_'

"Gab!" '_You're an electric-type mutant!_' Gabite replied. "Bite!" '_I'm a dragon/ground-type! I'm_ four times _weak to ice!_'

"It's fine, Gabite. I'm not putting anyone through that." Ash said, rubbing the land shark's head. "We'll just-"

"We're NOT staying here for six hours, Ash." Anabel said. "The other boat will be here in three!"

"We don't have winter clothing, Anabel." Misty said. "I might be used to the cold by swimming, but that's too much."

Kyoji then released a familiar form to Ash, that being the psuedo-dragon Charizard. "Problem solved." the Ranseian deadpanned.

"One will not be enough." Janine said, cupping her chin in thought as Ash returned Gabite. "The caves in this place can get to minus 40 below zero. We would have to huddle uncomfortably close to Charizard."

Anabel and Misty blushed at the idea of being so close to Ash for who knows how long before two Pokeballs were opened.

"Qui!" '_Misty!_' said a giant honey badger as she walked up to the redhead, happily rubbing her head against Misty's leg.

"Fletch." '_This place is cold as hell,_" a robin chirped as she nested on Anabel's head. "Ling?" '_Why?_'

"Training for you, warmth for the girls." Ash explained. "I think you want to evolve to Fletchinder sometime this year.

Kyoji looked at the bird on Anabel's head. "What the hell is this?" he asked, confused as he got a bit too close for Anabel's comfort.

"Fletchling's a Pokemon from Kalos. Flying/normal-type," Ash explained as she took off and landed on Ash's head. "She'll turn into a flying/fire-type when she evolves into Fletchinder."

"And with all the crazy training they've been doing with your… friend…" Kyoji said, not wanting to touch Serena's status with an AU-long pole for good reason. "You think she might evolve here?"

"Worked for Sliggoo," Ash replied as he smiled, finally eager for an adventure for once. At least it wouldn't get anyone killed.

He hoped.

* * *

Meanwhile, half a mile off, actually wearing winter gear, were everyone's favorite idiots.

"James, do you feel like we're unimportant?" she asked her bluenette counterpart.

"Jessie, we're as important as the authors want us to be, same as the show." James said, looking through a pair of binocs while finally doing what Team Rocket did best. "They want us gone, they'll _make _us gone."

"True." Jessie said before thinking about something. "What about Unova?"

"We're not supposed to talk about dat, Jessie." Meowth said. "We're da TRio from DIS timeline, not the one from the timeline the twerp's technically from."

"But we're breaking the fourth wall! Who cares?!" Jessie exclaimed.

The Jinx you annoyed, maybe.

"Well, sure, but…" Jessie paused before looking behind them, seeing a VERY annoyed Jinx.

"Jessie...you know the Authors don't like us. _Why _did you have to annoy them?" James asked as the Jinx used Blizzard on them.

* * *

Ash didn't pay attention to the explosion of snow some ways off. "So, Quilava, you stick with Misty and Anabel. Flame up: it's cold in there." he said.

"Quilava!" '_Sure! But can we make this quick? I have something to do back at the Ranch,_' Quilava said.

"Bulbasaur's working you ragged, probably," Ash said as Kyoji sulked.

"I REALLY want to learn how you do that." he moaned.

"Kyoji, I had ALL of my Pokemon's minds compressed in my head," Ash said. "That had more side-effects than just me understanding Pokemon. I used to be more upbeat and optimistic. Now I'm thinking way too much on the good old days before Cyrus commited universal genocide."

Kyoji blinked a few times before speaking. "I think the proper term is 'omnicide'," he said with a raised index finger.

"_Whatever_ the term is. I just know I think back on those days far too often to be healthy and you _don't _want to get this the same way I did." Ash said before looking at the girls. "Stick with a fire-type at all times. Keep warm and all that."

"We'd rather stick with you," Anabel said for them both before Quilava's back lit up, flames jetting up and making it like a small campfire, making her feel better.

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Well, we want to get to the other side of the cave fast. So… can't." he said as an excuse, Kyoji grumbling as he did. "Let's go!"

* * *

**Oak Ranch - 1212 hours local time**

* * *

Bulbasaur watched as Gabite and Tranquill got into a fight, trying to make each other evolve, one to get ready for Kanto, the other wanting to just chomp on his trainer's head again, even as Natu hopped away from Muk as fast as she could go, terror in her eyes.

"Bulba." '_Now THIS is chaos I enjoy,_' he said before feeling something coil around him.

"Dra!" '_Friend!_' said the Dratini as he wrapped around Bulbasaur like an anaconda. This also had the same effect, as he was constricting around the Bulb Pokemon.

"Bul! Bul!" '_Let! Go! Can't! Breathe!_' Bulbasaur choked out, the dragon-type letting go.

"Dra?" '_But no one in the Safari Zone minded?_' Dratini asked, Bulbasaur coughing as he got air back into him.

"Bulba!" '_You're used to doing that to other Dratini. We're not Dratini,_' Bulbasaur said before walking into the sun and laying down.

"Dratini?" '_Why are they fighting? I thought they were friends,_' the snake-like Pokemon asked as Gabite used Dual Chop on Tranquill, only to get kicked by Chimchar before using Ember on him.

This was likely confusing for any Pokemon, let alone one so… sheltered.

"Bulba." 'We are battlers, young one.' Bulbasaur answered as the ongoing fight escalated to include Grovyle and Turtwig. "Bulbasaur, Bulb-saur, saur Bulbasaur." '_We spar with each other to train, and fight the Pokemon of other Trainers for the prestige and glory of ours. And, all too often, we end up fighting egomaniacs in order to save the world._'

Turtwig spat out an Energy Ball at Gabite, making the shark roar as he spat out dragonfire at the grass-type.

"Bulba." '_That is why we fight,_' he said, closing his eyes. "Bulbasaur." '_It is also in our nature. For thousands of years, we have fought in battles, be it war or simple competition. You simply haven't awoken your fighting spirit yet._'

Dratini looked at Bulbasaur raptly. "Draaaa…" '_Does Ash want us all to fight?_' he asked.

"Bulba." '_He doesn't _expect _anything. When he caught us, he got to know us first. When we expressed interest in battle, then he used us against trainers and even Gym Leaders, the strongest of them all. He brings out the best in us. Look at Gabite,_' he said, Gabite getting into a fight with Charizard of all Pokemon, as he finished his recovery and wanted to train.

"Bulbasaur." '_He used to be small, like you. Now he's becoming bigger, more powerful. Granted, it's so he can use eviolite to be a Gible again, but still. I chose to stay as I am. For now,_' he said, Dratini nodding as he listened. "Saur." '_With the evolite thing, I might actually evolve._'

"Dra." '_Wow,_' the snake said. "Dra!" '_I don't know what I turn into! Do I evolve?!_'

Bulbasaur looked at the snake before a form flew over the ranch, landing in a clearing, the orange scales covering a massive body, with whip-like antennae, tiny wings and RADIATING power.

"Bulba." '_You eventually turn into that,_' he deadpanned as Professor Oak's Dragonite roared his challenge to the Ash-mons.

Their fighting spirit would not be found wanting.

* * *

**Seafoam Island Caves - 1213 hours local time**

* * *

Ash stepped carefully on the icy path. "I can see why no one would go through here." he said, his shoes barely staying where he placed his feet.

"I am tempted to take us back to the entrance." Janine said.

"Come on, Janine, what's the fault in a little danger?" Kyoji asked with a grin. "If we get hurt, we have Ash's fire-types to melt the ice and I can have Charizard fly us out."

The kunoichi sighed. "This is never-melt-ice," she said, quickly pulling out a lit flame and butane fuel source, making it look like she was using 'ninjutsu'. Of course, magic wasn't a thing for ninja: only slight of hand.

Regardless, the flame did nothing to the ice. "It does not melt. It does not even fluctuate in its' coldness." she added. "And there are only two sources for never-melt-ice: Silph Co's artificial manufacturing plants-"

Ash finished for her. "Or an ice-type Legendary Pokemon." he said.

Kyoji winced. "Aw, crap. We're not equipped to deal with a legendary of any kind," he said, knowing it would take more then a bunch of mid and beginning stage Pokemon with one fully evolved one to take on a legendary. "Janine, you know a lot more then I do about Kanto. You got any idea-"

"The Freeze Pokemon," she said, cutting him off. "First of the Legendary Birds."

"Articuno," Ash muttered, remembering the times he ran into one, the most infamous being Shamouti, where the damn thing tried to kill him. "We need to get out of this cave."

"You sound like you had bad experiences-" Misty said before she heard something. "Oh. Shamouti Island."

Ash thanked the astral Misty for once, even as she blushed.

"Wanna fill the rest of us in?" Kyoji asked, not liking being left out of the loop. Ash could relate.

"Basically the second time I saved the world back in the old timeline." he said before stepping forward. "Let's get out of-" he was cut off by the ground giving way, making him slide down a crevasse.

"ASH!" Anabel and Misty cried.

* * *

Ash was not worried about the rocks likely bruising the backs of his legs. Bruises would heal.

No, he was more worried about his pants getting torn up. He was down to his last pair, having given the other to Misty to cover her legs and Janine accidentally burned the other four pairs trying to launder them.

It was minus 20: he didn't want to be essentially half-naked in freezing conditions.

"PIIIIIIIIIIIIIKA!" '_I fucking hate this place!_' Pikachu cried on his stomach, Fletchling struggling to stay on his head.

After a few minutes, they reached the bottom, which was covered in gravel. Ash could feel the deep cold brushing the backs of his calves.

"Damn it." he muttered as he looked, finding his pants shredded. "That's just great." It was even colder down here.

"Pikachu." '_Fletchling, mind evolving? It's FUCKING COLD,_' Pikachu asked the Kalosian robin, who was shivering on Ash's head.

"F-Fletch!" '_Not happening, mouse!_' Fletchling said, clearly freezing. "Ling!" '_No convenient evolutions today!_'

Ash laughed mirthlessly. "That's great. Lost, freezing and I'm probably going to turn into the Frozen One at long last." he said, joking at his comment back at Shamouti as he walked around the frozen cave.. "If I get out of here, no matter what, winter clothing is a-"

"Kooky!" '_Finally! Food!_' cried a Krabby in the darkness.

"I don't think so." Ash deadpanned before his eyes adjusted, seeing the aforementioned crab… poking an egg.

It was blue, with a pattern Ash had never seen. Ash hadn't seen too many eggs before, so there were a LOT.

But he wasn't letting this Krabby end a life.

"Pikachu?" Ash asked his starter, who nodded.

"Pi!" '_On it!_' he said to his brother, firing a thundershock at the red crab, making it go flying into the ice, sliding on the frozen water before Fletchling decided to be a bitch, flying ahead of the crab and Pecking the ice enough to make it break.

The look on the Krabby's face was priceless. "Ko-" '_Oh COME-_' SPLOOT he went into the subzero water.

"Fletch." '_freeze and die,_' she chirped before flying back to Ash, who was not impressed with her.

"He's a crab and a water-type: he'll be fine." her trainer said before walking over and picking up the egg, finding it intact. The Krabby hadn't done anything to it.

Two more were with the blue egg, one looking like flames, the other was zig-zagging shades of yellow.

"Never seen these eggs before." he muttered.

"Pika." '_They've been down here a while. They're covered in frost,_' Pikachu said before touching one. "Chu." '_They're still alive, though. Good thing they're Pokemon eggs: they can survive almost anything._'

Case in point: Togepi.

Someone else slid down the hole, making Ash turn and prepare to defend himself and the eggs before finding out who it was. Thankfully, it was just Janine.

"I am pleased you are alright," she said as she came into focus, noticing the eggs. "Pokemon eggs?"

"Abandoned." Ash said, spitting the word. His father was bad enough: Pokemon parents were supposed to be better. "Hope you don't mind-"

"Gladly," she interrupted, taking the blue egg from his hands. "I secured a rope before coming down. We will be able to climb out of here. The eggs will make it more…" she looked at the unwieldy objects. "Difficult."

"I'm _not _abandoning them here," Ash stressed.

"I did not say that you _should_. Merely that the climb will be more difficult with them," Janine said, clarifying her words and understanding why he refused to leave them. "I recommend we use our travel bags to send up the eggs first to ease our passage."

* * *

Five minutes later, Kyoji looked at the eggs as Misty fed the rope back down the hole.

"What kind of eggs are these?" he asked as he examined the fire egg. "I've never seen any Pokemon egg like this."

"I don't think _anyone _outside of Pokemon Breeders know what every egg looks like," Misty said somewhat snappishly. Ash was gone longer then she would like and it was starting to show.

"No need to be like that." Kyoji said before Misty finished sending the rope down. Anabel and Quilava looked at the other two, Quilava sniffing them.

"I don't like Ash being out of sight." she said before the rope became tunt, a sign they were climbing back up. "I don't know why Ash would send up Pokemon eggs first!"

"He sees himself in them," Anabel said quietly. "His father abandoned him and his family."

"And this is history repeating itself." Kyoji summed up. "Well, at least we got a way out." while the girls were panicking (Janine was proactive in her worrying; Misty had a Togepi egg to worry about so while she WANTED to go down there, she couldn't) he found the way out.

So once Ash got up here, they could leave. And with his head poking out, that time was now.

"You tore your pants," Janine deadpanned.

"Thank you, I am WELL AWARE," Ash snarked. Apparently, he was still sore over her burning them yesterday.

* * *

It was 2:14 by the time they got out of there and none of them were more glad to see the coast then Ash was.

"I swear, I am investing in more pants when we get to Cinnabar." he said, glancing at Janine knowingly. "Hopefully fire-proof ones."

"I apologized when it happened." Janine said, her eyes closed as she followed their footsteps.

"And until I get more pants, I have the right to be somewhat petty." Ash retorted as they came up to the all-but-deserted docks. "Misty, can I have my pants back?"

"Sure." she said before pausing, looking back at her backpack, hurriedly getting it off and removing Togepi's egg from it.

The egg shook, then started glowing. "This didn't happen in the other timeline. This DIDN'T HAPPEN." Ash said, panicking. "The egg just cracked and then out came his head-I think he was a boy, we never found out-"

"Ash." Kyoji said. "Calm the hell down. Please."

The egg disappeared, but fortunately, the form did not. Still wearing an eggshell, with exposed hands and feet with a crown-like thing on the top of the head, the eponymous spikes of the Pokemon's title.

Ash took out his Pokedex, hoping it would give answers.

"_Togepi, the Spike Ball Pokemon. Togepi are the first confirmed fairy-type Pokemon outside of Clefairy and critically the first to prove that emotion allows for evolution_," the Pokedex said. "T_ogepi are rare outside of the Johto and Sinnoh regions_."

Togepi opened its' eyes and looked at Misty, blinking. "Toge!" '_Mommy!_' the spike Pokemon said, the voice being young, but very girly. So Togepi was a girl. Good to know.

Togepi looked at Ash then, seeing a happy smile on his face now that he wasn't panicking. "Toge-pri!" '_Daddy!_' she said, much to his horror.

A Pokeball then activated, Kyoji looking behind him - as did Jenine. Emerging from one of the former's Pokeballs appeared what looked to be a Galvantula, however it was a darker shade of yellow - almost brown. But it also had a pair of extra legs on its side, but more importantly its abdomen was brightly colored with a beautiful array of colors, almost like those of a Peacock.

"…is that a Ranseian Galvantula?" Jenine asked, but before she got an answer the Peacock-like Spider pokemon jumped in front of Togepi, who looked at it in confusion. Misty was about to scream as it raised its extra claws, its abdomen rose up…

…and proceeded to dance.

"Oh, one second," Kyoji activated his Pokedex, as accompanying music began to play.

**BGM: "YMCA Theme" (for the full experience, watch the youtube video 'Peacock spider dances to YMCA')**

Misty was more confused then ever, staring at the spider as he did what he did best.

"I… I have no idea what I should be doing." Misty admitted. "I mean… he's a bug. But… he's…"

"Cute?" Kyoji said, smiling. "Yeah, it's kinda what he does. The Joltiks are just as cute, but TINY."

"I've run into a couple," Ash said as Togepi watched the dance of the spider, clapping along. "I REALLY need my pants back."

"Can't you enjoy the dance for just a bit?" Anabel asked, watching as the Galvantula used more intricate dance moves.

Galvantula turned to Ash, and continued its dance as Togepi clapped in sync to the rhythm.

…Pikachu started clapping with them.

"Pikachu!" he cried, stunned.

"Pika Pi!" '_It's addicting, Ash; I can't stop!_'

"Resistance is futile against the dance," Kyoji chuckled - even as he bobbed his head along. Even _Misty _was starting to tap her foot a bit to the beat.

The big, googly eyes BEGGED Ash to let him continue. And despite everything… Ash was still the nicest guy you could meet if you weren't a member of Team Magma or something.

"…Only until the boat gets here," he said, relenting.

"…That's not for another 45 minutes." Anabel said, the spider BEAMING at this as the dance… continued.

* * *

Hands gripped the snowy rocks as the TRio recovered from the Jinxing.

"The authors hate us." Meowth said.

Blame your inability to do your job properly. At least here, you're not screwing up.

"That's certainly true," Jessie groused as she caught sight of… a giant dancing spider. "What the hell is that?"

"A Galvantula." James said. "You know, the bigger version of Joltik. …But they don't do that."

Ranseian ones do.

Jessie couldn't argue with THAT. "…Why is it CUTE?" she asked.

Because the universe has willed it to be so. The Ranseian Peacock Galvantula is the epitome of that which is adorable - rivaled only by Gibles and Natus.

"…What about Pikachu?" Meowth asked.

That goes without saying, _dumbass_.

The TRio could not argue with that and just waited for the line break for the next scene.

* * *

**Oak Ranch - 1412 hours local time**

* * *

"Bulba." _You had fun,_' Bulbasaur said to Oak's Dragonite as he sported a few bruises.

"Dra." '_I damn well _hope _I did. They were _relentless_._' the elder dragon said as Dratini continued to stare at him. "Gon?" '_Newborn?_'

"Bulba." '_More or less. I don't think he even knows about Dragonair._' the Bulb Pokemon said.

The elder nodded in understanding. "Dra." '_I will have to correct that,_' he said, tilting his head. "Nite?" '_If you don't mind?_'

"Bulbasaur." '_Like _I _could stop _you_. You're a Dragonite: one step below the legendaries. Just make sure he makes it back,_' Bulbasaur replied, Dragonite nodding.

"Dragonite." '_Very well. Come along, young one,_' he said, getting up. "Nite." '_I will have to introduce you to your own kind._'

Dratini followed the walking dragon, even as the rest of Ash's Pokemon groaned in pain, some having evolved.

"Grot…" '_I was… avoiding this…_' Grotle said as his everything hurt.

"Mon…" '_Fucking… deal with… it…_' Monferno groaned as he held his head.

* * *

**Cinnabar Ferry en route to Cinnabar Island - 1326 hours local time**

* * *

Kyoji knew it had to be done. He had to convince Ash to get over his problems and accept the girls loved him.

Or rather, convince him that it was right to allow HIMSELF to love them. He had daddy issues: who didn't? But this was unhealthy. No more fake dates, no more deceptions.

"Okay Ash, let me make sure I got this straight," He clapped his hands, as he sat across from Ash. "Your reason for not dating, or going out or accepting the love of those girls… is because you don't want to be like your father and leave them alone at home? Am I misunderstanding this so far?"

"More or less." Ash answered in a somewhat dead tone, knowing he wasn't going to be avoiding this conversation.

"Okay, we have that cleared up," he nodded. "Now, let me ask you something else… aside from your whole… royalty thing - which I am _personally _indifferent about - and your whole… universe-ending thing, and currently in the process of saving the universe from it happening again… what makes _you_ \- Ash Ketchum - _any different _from the hundreds, if not _thousands _of other Trainers who _do _get into relationships - successful ones at that - and still travel about? In fact, many of them travel _with _their families since the costs of universal healthcare in most trainer nations is dirt cheap, along with accessing medical records at Pokecenters and hospitals alike."

"Stability, for one," Ash answered. "I didn't just go to _one _region, Kyoji, I went to ALL of them. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola - I bet I'd've gone to that Galar region I've been hearing about, too. I just CAN'T STOP moving. And… I didn't want to do that to anyone. Let alone someone I love." Ash looked at the girls, who were fussing over Togepi, other than Janine, who knew to back off and let them talk. "I am not worthy of them and I know it."

Kyoji glanced at Pikachu with a sly smirk - as Ash just admitted he _did _love them - which Pikachu did as well. "Well, issue is… there are _plenty _of Trainers who do that as well," He reasoned, "They hook up, get married on the road, maybe have a kid, and then not long after they get moving again to the next Gym, or Beauty Contest or whatever it is they like to do."

"It's dangerous on the road."

"You have an army of some of the most dangerous and experienced Pokemon in the entire world," he deadpanned. "Not even including the Pokemon of your lady-friends, who are a power house all to themselves. And it _continues to grow _every day. There are trainers who go along the roads - with their families - with _less _than what you have, and turn out fine. In fact, the kids have grown up to be exceptionally healthy, and rather cultured since they're constantly going around the world, visiting new places... it's honestly a good life. No one has to stop for anything."

"Maybe, but I know that I can't stay still long enough to enjoy the town I stay in, let alone wait for my spouse to give birth." Ash retorted. "And besides… I'm damaged goods and I know it. I saw the WORLD end. I have died MULTIPLE TIMES. I'm lucky I'm even alive, let alone functioning."

"And yet… here you are." Kyoji shrugged, "If you really were the 'damaged goods' you claim to be, you would be some old, bitter man who cares nothing about anything. A nihilistic piece of shit that just wants it all to end, and let everything burn around you… but you're not - and you know why? Because you still _care _for those girls, your pokemon, your _family_… and more importantly, they still love you back… you have _herds _of Pokemon literally traveling across _the world _just to come back to you. It's not because of just loyalty - those Pokemon _love you_, you are _family _to them… in a way… they're already like having children."

Ash looked at Kyoji, looking… old. His body hadn't aged, but his eyes…

"I'm 31, Kyoji. The body might be 14, close to 15, but I am TWICE their age mentally," he said. "That's just all kinds of WRONG."

"That is in context, and semantics," Kyoji let out a dry chuckle. "The ending of your universe… I can't even begin to fathom what that would be like to experience… but from it, you've been given something that _so many people _would love to have."

"What's that?"

"A second chance," Kyoji said. "A chance to right your past errors, to do… _better _than before, with the knowledge and experience you had in your previous life. If a man were in your position, who in his previous life was in love with his childhood friend, got married, had a kid… and was given the chance to start it all over again - a 31 year old in his 15 year old body, with his 15 year old soon-to-be fiance… would they just turn away from it all?"

Kyoji leaned back, with a frown. "Besides…" he muttered. "Not everyone comes to age at the same time to begin with…"

Ash thought about it… and tears fell from his eyes. "It would be so easy," he said. "I wish it was possible for me. But I am a danger magnet. A few months from now, I was invited to an island. I died because of the two most powerful psychic-types outside of Arceus. Three months later, I was thrown head-first into a near-apocalypse that I barely averted. Six months later, the UNOWN of all things tried to kill me." The pallet trainer sighed. "I blunder into situations that have world-reaching consequences by accident. And all of them would have gotten me killed if it weren't for the Pokemon I had with me and dumb luck. That's… that's not something you do to someone you love."

"It is if they're willing to go through hell right alongside you," Kyoji said. "In those instances… were they not there with you? Did they, and their pokemon not help you along the way? Leaping, jumping, fighting and surviving right alongside you, through the worst of times, and the best of times? _That _is a level of trust and commitment that many can only _wish _to earn from those they love… and _you _found it in the hearts of, let's see, how many women? Misty, Anabel, Jenine come to mind, but I've been told about May, Dawn - who sounds super-cute by the way - Serena, and Iris."

"Anabel I met during my Battle Frontier run: she never travelled with me!" Ash said.

"And yet here she is," Kyoji said, gesturing towards her. "Knowing full and well what you've been through, and what you are about to go through… and she's still here."

Ash gave him a look. "She's only still here because she's afraid of someone pulling what Sabrina pulled. I MINDWIPED her when she tried to take ME over," he said. "I accidentally killed a Hypno when he looked in my head. I KILL telepaths that try to probe too deep."

"You sure that's the only reason why she's sticking around?" Kyoji rose his brow. "That she sees you as a means of protecting her? If anything, you'd think being around a psychic-killer would scare her off, find safety within the League - which they could easily provide… but no. She decided… to stay with _you_ \- the man who saved her from the Psycho-bitch… who, while she sounds cute, I'd never try anything with given how I don't chase after crazy people."

"It's just not happening. After I deal with Cyrus, MAYBE," Ash said, finally relenting somewhat. "But not now. I have WAY too much to worry about."

"It's better than you were before," Kyoji smiled. "You have so many people that truly love you Ash… don't let that chance go to waste… not all of us are nearly as lucky as you."

"_Attention passengers: we are arriving at Cinnabar Island," the captain said over the PA. "Be advised: the _Pride of Kanto _is in port and the _Queen Victoria _is also docking, so there will be a slight delay until you are able to depart_."

Ash gathered his things, eager to get off the ship. "I hope I don't have to deal with riddles and a gym inside a volcano again." he said, remembering the LAST time he was here. "Battles over boiling lava are NOT fun."

"You kidding? It's _invigorating_," Jaden chuckled, as Ash gave him a look. "What? Ransei's Ignis gym has you and your Pokemon fighting on the tallest Volcano in the nation to move on to the next Gym."

"I'd like my Pokemon not to have third-degree burns, or worse DIE, in a volcano if I can avoid it." Ash said as he got his backpack back on, heaving for the gangway ramp.

As he left, and Pikachu gave him a thumbs up, he sighed as he looked up to the sky. "…Arceus," he said, "I don't pray all that much, I know you know that… but clearly, this guy is important to the world, and he needs all the help and love he can get… so I promise you that I'll do my best to be his wingman from here on out… both in battle and in his love life…"

He clasped his hands together, "Just… all I ask in return… is at some point in this journey, _please _show me how to be able to talk to Pokemon like he can?" He prayed, "I'll even give up my doomed attempts at getting a love life if that sweetens the deal, since we both know that's never going anywhere, and this will be a far more productive use for my time…"

Anabel's Natu then teleported away, making her panic before he came back with a very smug look on his face, looking at him briefly before nesting once more.

Kyoji glanced around awkwardly. "…so… was that a yes or a no?"

A horn then blared from the _Queen Victoria_ that was less like a ship's whistle and more like the roar of an ancient, almighty creature as a woman wearing a sunhat and white dress smiled at him from the deck.

"…Amen."

* * *

**RMS **_**Queen Victoria **_**\- Cinnabar docks - 1329 hours local time**

* * *

Iris slipped her minders, happily running on the boat deck as she looked for a way down that didn't involve those suit-wearing bastards.

"Ax!" her Axew said as he pointed at an empty lifeboat davit, with rope hanging tangled from the crane.

"Nice work, Axew!" Iris said, jumping onto the painted crane, climbing up to the pulley and beginning to untangle the mess. "A lot faster then going with them."

"Axew!" cried the tusk Pokemon before he swung his head at the davit from his perch in her hair. A fun fact: Axews did this all the time to mark territory.

Another fun fact: it was sharp as sin, so it cut the rope, fraying it.

Iris didn't notice until she was falling, the tangles holding her hands to the rope before she fell almost 150 feet, the davit's pulley slowing her down only slightly.

A knot in the rope suddenly stopped her fall, a sickening crack, then pain, informing her she had just dislocated her wrist from the force of the fall.

Iris had suffered worse.

She carefully got her dislocated wrist out of the mess and fell to the dock below, landing on her feet before looking at her hand, which was at an off-angle. She took in a deep breath before closing her eyes before forcing it back into place, wincing as while she had endured worse pain in her life, both self-inflicted and inflicted by others, it still HURT.

"Iris?" said a voice in accented Unovan that was surprised, confused and… knew her?

She opened her eyes to see a young man roughly her age, wearing jeans, running shoes, a black shirt and open blue jacket, with a cap on his black-haired head and a Pikachu, a Pokemon of almost myth in Unova, sitting on his shoulder.

She had never seen him before.

But Ash Ketchum had seen _her_ before.

* * *

**Entry 35:** Iris Arajar

Born in AS47 near Opelucid City, Iris Arajar has had a difficult life to say the least. While Unovans are not the most tolerant of people, they dislike so-called 'black' people more due to events over 100 years ago, which led to a revolt and civil war. While equal rights were enforced after the conflict, that didn't mean everyone had to like it.

What is worse is, despite the fact her paternal grandfather is Opelucid Gym Leader Drayden, her maternal grandfather was a Cipher Peon (equal to a Rocket Grunt) and as Cipher, and Orre in general, are despised throughout the world, especially in Unova, any reminders of that result in shunning and occasional beatings.

Iris was fortunate enough to have one of the most dangerous men in Unova as a member of her family, avoiding some of this, but it was not enough to ensure a happy life. Her 'untamed' lifestyle choices did not help.

Recent intel indicates that she was chosen as a member of the diplomatic team to Kanto as the 'token minority representative'. While normally Giovanni would order her captured for ransom and blackmail against the Unovan League, Delia Ketchum's recent activities prevent any form of hostage taking from being practical.

* * *

**Entry 36:** RMS _Queen Victoria_

While the four-funneled ancient flagships of the White and Gold Lines are the most sought after, the most important ship to the Pernon Line is the RMS _Queen Victoria_, a much larger, if less opulent, vessel.

Designed after the sinking of the _Olympic's _sister ship, the _Queen Victoria_ is a tri-funnel vessel that has less history but no less luxury, especially in Unova, where it has been making round trips from Unova to all the regions for nearly 50 years.

Unovans welcome the sight of the ship, as it, among other, smaller vessels, were the first to bring relief supplies to Unova in the wake of the Cipher War. It is still used to bring both passengers and cargo to and from Unova.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan:** **The Poke-US, just like the actual one, has a dark side. And **_**SOT **_**is not shy about showing the darker side of things. Do note I do not support ANYTHING like that here, I merely just tell a story. Speaking of stories… **

* * *

**Omake:** Janine is not allowed

Contrary to popular belief, Ash knew how to do laundry. He also knew how to make basic foodstuffs, especially after his mother taught him properly after the league, just before he went to the Orange Islands. The only problem was, he never got to practice until the timeline was reset as Brock, Cilian and Serena… refused to let him.

Well, now they didn't have a CHOICE.

"There," the Pallet trainer said as he finished setting up a crude, if effective, clothesline to dry all of his freshly washed shirts and especially his pants. He only had two clean pairs left.

Ash turned away to handle some food issues, but Janine stepped up towards the clothes. Drying on a line like this… it would take a while for them to dry… '…_maybe I can speed it up?_' she mused as she glanced at her hidden Butane Burner - which she's used in order to 'breath' fire… '_More heat means it will dry faster, wouldn't it?_'

She lit the flame and inhaled, then exhaled, the fire brushing the jeans, but she didn't think they would catch fire.

Sadly, she didn't think this through, as some unburned fuel got onto the jeans.

This would have happened if Ash asked Quilava or Charizard to help, which is why he didn't. And while wet clothes were more or less fireproof, the heat dried them too fast.

Thus, they caught fire, helped by the droplets that splattered onto them. Janine stopped, but too late, looking at her handiwork in horror.

* * *

Daniels edged too close and was hit with the flames, getting turned into a burning man until he fell into a river infested with angry Gyarados.

* * *

Ash returned, only to see Janine trying to put out the fire.

"…What happened?!"

"Janine burned your pants." Misty said, as her Starme helped put the fire out with a water gun.

"…HOW DID YOU SET MY PANTS ON FIRE?!"

"I DON'T KNOW, EVERYTHING HAPPENED SO FAST!" Janine screamed.

"…well, shit." Ash sighed, "Now I need a new pair… A LOT of new pairs… but how am I-"

*Honk-Honk*

Everyone turned as Kyoji came up to the camp… oddly enough, with a Rickshaw, that was loaded with gear under a tarp. He was also wearing a white bandana "Okay, I'm back!" He said, panting as he downed a bottle of water. "So, I know I went to town to get some food, but I found all sorts of ingredients for some curry and rice, and some exotic metals for Gible and Gabite - it _is _a part of their diets. Also I made rough estimates of your clothes sizes, and I grabbed a few basic things for ya like pants, shirts and such until we can get to the next city with a bigger selection. Also stocked up on basic camping gear, MRE's if we get desperate, and I was able to clean some of ya'lls shirts while I was there since they had a dry cleaner… Oh and I bought a Rickshaw, so we can carry heavier things with us. I can carry it, but if ya'll have a Pokemon of Burden like a Tauros or Ponyta that's willing to volunteer, that'd make this a lot easier..."

After he took a moment to finish his water, he glanced around and… noticed the scorched pants. "…the fuck did I miss?"

Ash and the girls all blinked, as did Pikachu.

"Pika." '_He's the new Brock._' Pikachu said, as Ash nodded.

"You're the new Brock."

"…who?"

Ash pointed at Janine. "She burned my pants. She doesn't do laundry anymore." he said, still incensed over the loss of almost all of his jeans.

"I apologized!" Janine yelled.

"Seriously, who the hell is Brock?" Kyoji asked. He wouldn't get his answer.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan:** **Janine is not allowed to do laundry anymore. And yes, Ash can actually clean his clothing… by hand. Washing machines are an unknown, because SERIOUSLY, he spends almost all his time outdoors.**

**117Jorn: …also, I wrote the Omake as a joke, but I realized something… but I'll talk about it when the subject actually comes up in a future chapter. **

**Takeshi: And, of course, Daniels gets trashed. Again. We don't like him, obviously.**

**Ron the True Fan: Shockwave is a subject everyone hates and Daniels is at the center of the stupidity. Regardless, Iris is here now, a victim of shunning and generally being an outcast to all. She'll fit RIGHT in with the misfits Ash collects. (Rumbling) The fuck is that?**

**Thor: Tis not me.**

**Takeshi: Wait… that rumbling sounds mechanical… and mixed with footsteps.**

**?: BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!**

**Ron the True Fan: FINISH THAT LINE AND YOU WILL REGRET IT!**

**World Eaters: SKULLS FOR THE SKULL-**

**Ron the True Fan: THAT'S IT! CALLING DOWN THE THUNDER!**

**Ja Ne! (BOOM!)**


	25. Chapter 24: Unovan Pains in The

**Ron the True Fan: …yes, I am aware using antimatter weaponry was extreme. They pissed me-oh, shit. Hang on. (Hangs up phone) Lawyers. Almost as bad as Chaos worshipers. **

**117Jorn: …did the World Eaters **_**sue **_**you?**

**Ron the True Fan: Aggron did. He knows better then to try stupid, so he got help. Regardless, Cinnabar. So many things to do here.**

**Takeshi Yamato: And no Volcano Gym. It's a proper building here.**

**Ron the True Fan: What, you thought rule of cool would apply? This isn't **_**Ashes-**_**(We Love Burning Town remix plays) Chaos lawyers. Roll the fic. (Answers) What do you want NOW, Lorgar?**

* * *

**Cinnabar docks - 1329 hours local time - Day 72 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

Ash could not believe his luck. Iris was here. Her hair was wilder then he remembered, but it was her.

She also seemed terrified of him. Why would she be…

'_I REALLY hate this timeline,_' Ash thought as he figured it out. Iris' life must've been worse here.

"How do you know my name?!" Iris all but shreaked, her Axew jumping out of her hair in her defense.

"Ax!" '_Get away from the nice lady!_' he demanded. Ash looked at the tiny Tusk Pokemon in amusement. Not cruel amusement, but… it was cute.

"I'm not going to hurt your trainer, little guy," Ash said calmly. "Just want to talk to her." '_And maybe make her less annoying then early on in Unova,_' he thought, unwilling to put up with Iris' 'immature' nonsense for a second time.

Seriously, he made a few overeager mistakes and she's calling him a kid throughout Unova.

"My name's Ash Ketchum. You could say we… met before." he said disarmingly, "I wouldn't be surprised if you-"

"IRIS!" Ash looked up at the yell, seeing a man in a suit looking down at them from the ship's boat deck. And from the look of things, he was pissed.

"Oh, no," Iris said, her face draining of color in horror. Ash didn't like it. It didn't fit Iris to be afraid of anything but ice-types. And maybe fairy-types.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked, honestly confused. Why would she be worried?

"He's from the government and just wants me to shut up and be seen," Iris said,bowing her head in depression. "Just like back home…"

Ash's protective instincts kicked in. "I'll deal with him," he said, unwilling to deal with this sort of thing.

The suited man rushed down the gangway, his bald head marking him clearly.

"I thought we told you, you stupid bitch: stay with the group!" he yelled, glaring at her, then at Ash. "You, get the hell out of the way."

Ash just glared back, refusing to budge. "No," he said calmly. "Leave her alone.'

"Maybe you should leave the girl to her own devices," Kyoji muttered loudly from the boat..

"I don't need mouth from you, fucking Chink!" The suited man shouted.

…the air in the general area suddenly became very, _very,__**very **_cold as Kyoji's brow twitched. "I'm sorry…" he said, forcing up a smile. "I'm afraid I didn't quite catch that…"

"I said, shut the fuck up, Ching chong!" The man sneered. "We deal with enough of your kind back home - I don't wanna deal with that 'harrabelbel aschent' here," He smirked, as he 'mimicked' the Ranseian accent.

"…Imma enjoy this," Kyoji fumed and reached for a Pokeball. Ash was faster, sending out something very, VERY dangerous.

The purple and green Sliggoo, transferred in during the trip so he would fight Blaine. "Sli?" '_Who's this asshole?_' Sliggoo asked. "Go?" '_He looks like that guy from that game Serena played last week._'

"The fuck is that thing? Looks like a Munna fucked a Escavalier!" the idiot said.

"...Sliggoo." '_I'mma kill him._' Sliggoo declared before spewing mucus on the idiot. Ash just waited for it.

"What the hell is this?!" the suit yelled before they all smelled burning skin and silk, making him scream before running off, blindly falling into the waters below.

Iris stared. Misty and Anabel stared. Even Kyoji stared at the work of the mucosa from hell.

"So THAT'S what the Pokedex meant." Kyoji said, regretting saying anything bad before he looked at Sliggoo. "…your my new favorite Pokemon that _isn't _a part of my team." He said, nodding in approval of the gooey Dragon-type's handiwork.

"Gib!" '_I second that!_' Gible gave Sliggoo a thumbs up.

Galvantula simply danced happily.

"…Goo?" '_What are you doing? I can't see,_' Sliggoo said.

"...translation?" Kyoji turned to Ash.

"He can't see what you're doing." Ash said for the snail dragon.

"Oh, uh… Gible's giving you a thumbs up, and Galvantula is dancing for you." He clarified for the slimy dragon.

"Goo!" '_Thanks! I'd hug you, but then the same thing would happen,_' Sliggoo said.

"Sliggoo says he would give you a hug, but then...well…" Ash said, trailing off as he hooked a thumb at the asshole in the water.

" … geez, I was just about to do that…" Kyoji gulped slightly. "Good to know…"

Iris looked at Sliggoo, even as Axew sniffed him. "Ax?" '_What ARE you?_' he asked the Kalosian Pokemon.

"Sliggoo's a dragon-type from Kalos." Ash answered for Axew, making him look at the trainer.

"Ax." '_That almost sounded like you could understand me,_' the tusk pokemon said. Ash could have gotten lucky with Sliggoo.

"I can. Want me to repeat what you said?" Ash asked with a grin.

"Ax!" '_Ok, you wanna pretend you can? Ok. Tell Iris you like her!_' Axew said, sounding smug.

"I just met her, Axew, so I'm not going to say that to her," Ash said back deadpan.

"…Ax." '…_That wasn't luck,_' Axew said in shock before going back to his trainer, who got the general idea.

"You can understand Pokemon?" she asked, tilting her head as she looked at him before pouting. "I'm jealous. The only things that spent any real time around me were Pokemon."

"You and me both." Kyoji said, still sore over Ash understanding Pokemon and the rest of them not before Ash looked at him.

"Ask a psychic to dump your Gible's mind into yours for a few minutes. Worked WONDERS for me," Ash said sarcastically before looking at Iris. "Do you have to be anywhere? Because if all of them are like that, I can glad-" She cut him off by giving him a hug.

"THANK YOU!" she cried, making Misty and Anabel glare at her. "I don't want to hang around those people. They… they were cruel. They just let everyone pick on me and locked me in my room and-"

Ash sighed. Him and his big mouth.

* * *

**Cinnabar Island Pokemon Center - 1423 hours local time**

* * *

It took her half an hour to stop blubbering. Misty wanted to say she wasn't as bad, but Ash fixed her with a look and said 'Samurai'. THAT shut her up as they entered the Pokemon Center, finding burn victims aplenty.

"Blaine was busy," Misty said, wincing at even the burned bug-types. She wasn't _completely _heartless.

"Hang on, hang on!" said a Nurse Joy as she noticed them come in, helping her Chansey assistant with a particularly roasted Golbat into the OR.

"VERY busy," Ash said.

"And he doesn't use a volcano gym?" Kyoji asked. "The gym back home-"

"I damn well hope not." Ash said before the Joy returned, sighing as she rubbed her eyes.

"Welcome to the Cinnabar Pokemon Center. PLEASE tell me you're not going to all face Blaine." she said, almost pleading with them not to fight the gym leader. "We're being flooded with burn cases: Blaine's in a bad mood and taking it out on everyone. There's a Team Rocket base on the island and with the Erika thing, he's on edge."

Ash wanted to feel smug about Erika, but decided not to be. "I'm the only one planning on it, but it can wait until the Rockets are dealt with." Ash said smiling as he walked up to the counter. "So, is there a reservation or something to fight at the Gym?"

The nurse looked at the group. "…I damn well hope-" she started.

"No, none of them are my girlfriend or his, we're just travelling together." Ash said, moderately annoyed at that subject. "I was also going to ask if you could give us seperate rooms."

Misty and Anabel glared at Ash for suggesting such a thing, having slept in the same room since they started travelling together. Janine didn't give a shit.

The joy nodded as she looked for rooms on an old CRT monitor. "Two rooms are available, but only in a few hours. You can spend that time looking for the key to Blaine's Gym." she said, sighing at the key comment. "Damned old man."

Ash didn't care. "Is it in some random location?" he asked, hoping it wasn't.

"Every month, he changes it." she said, sighing. "This month, he's put keys in the abandoned lab. Just… take your time."

With that, she left.

"Well, that just gives you time to prepare for your match." Misty said. "Want to borrow any of my Pokemon?"

"Nah. I have plenty of water-types and Sliggoo wants in: the closer to Goodra, the better." Ash said as he looked through the Pokedex's records. "Let's see… Charizard wants to fight again… Might try Tauros…"

Kyoji looked at Ash dumbly. "You have Tauros." he asked.

Ash hmmed before looking at the list again. "Yeah, thirty of them." he answered.

"…you have a herd of 30 Tauros?" Kyoji blinked slowly at Ash.

"Yes," He nodded, shrugging. "Why?"

Kyoji grabbed Ash's shoulder. "Let's...take this outside." he said before guiding Ash out of the Pokemon center, the girls following mostly to avoid a blowup.

"…you've been walking this whole time, _we've _been walking this whole time," Kyoji stressed, "While you have a herd of some of the _strongest _beasts of burden in the _entire world_? We could buy a few carriages and we'd be able to haul enough supplies to keep us independent for _MONTHS!_ A Year even! Not to mention it'd cut travel time in half!"

"…he has a point," Janine pointed out, rubbing her feet. "We've… been walking for a while…"

"…I didn't want to say anything," Misty muttered, "But… making the journey easier… would be nice…"

Ash processed it for a moment… before he sighed. "Okay, in hindsight… I should've done that sooner," he admitted, "So… we should try to get a carriage or two…"

"Terrific," Kyoji clapped his hands, "I've got funding for that - just make sure you have your Miltanks ready as well!"

"…I don't have any Miltanks." Ash said.

The Ninja-trooper froze. "…you have a herd of 30 Tauros… and _no _Miltanks?"

"…is that bad?"

"…you _DO _realize Tauros is an all-male species, right?" Kyoji deadpanned, "Miltanks are their _female _counterparts! They're like Nidoqueen and Nidoking - they _need _each other to breed! Having Miltanks and Tauros together is _critical _to their psychological health since they are a _very _territorial species! So unless you want to go back before we domesticated regular cattle and have them castrated so they'll be more docile without Miltanks around - which I would _never _condone - your herd _needs _some females in there to balance things out!"

"…Pika pi." '_He DOES have a point,_' Pikachu reasoned. "Chuuu. Pika Pika, Pikachu!" '_I mean… it wasn't THAT bad in the old timeline, but the Tauros _did _kinda complain about not having mates around… Professor Oak kinda helped with the few he had at the ranch, but considering how… _dark _this timeline is, it wouldn't hurt to invest in getting a few Miltanks for them and the professor._'

"Milktank aren't native to Kanto and the closest place is Johto." Ash said, shuddering at remembering Whitney's Miltanks.

Pink-haired menace.

"So, we go to Johto," Kyoji reasoned for them. "Should be easy."

"I am NOT dealing with Whitney," Ash said, stressing it clearly.

"What are you two talking about?" Iris asked. "What's wrong with walking? I've walked everywhere all my life."

"You haven't walked the trails of Kanto for almost three months with thin-soled shoes." Misty deadpanned. "I don't MIND walking, but seriously, my feet have calluses on their calluses."

Ash sighed. Life was simpler back in the old days.

"Any chance I can convince you all to stay here while I look for the key?" he asked, knowing the answers.

"I have to keep you out of trouble and I still don't like you being out of my sight," Misty said.

"I don't think my mental defenses are good enough." Anabel said, though she blushed, making Ash question her intentions.

"…You're literally the only people that have been nice to me outside my grandpa my entire life." Iris said, Ash REALLY feeling sorry for her now.

'_I regret everything I said about her now,_' he thought.

Kyoji grinned as Ash looked at him. "You honestly think I'm staying here? You are a _constant _source of excitement," he said, amused at the thought.

"…I'm not telling Iris the story. One of you does it." Ash said before running off.

"Tell me WHAT?!" Iris asked as Ash became very distant, very quickly. "Hff. Child."

"He's actually more mature than you think." Kyoji said to her. "I think he's thinking that he's keeping us safe by being far away. Sadly we don't work that way!"

With that, Kyoji dragged her after Ash, kicking and screaming. Mostly just screaming.

* * *

**Cinnabar Burned Lab - 1549 hours local time**

* * *

One request for directions from a pair that looked like Buff and Cassidy - who were boarding a ship going to Orre afterward - and he was here.

A lab that looked about as safe as Gary's cheerleading squad.

"Pika." '_This place has seen better days,_' Pikachu said as Ash tapped a burned floor panel, only for it to suddenly collapse.

"And this was Blaine's idea for a key hunt?" Ash asked as the burned wood fell into the basement. "A burned out mansion that did double duty as a lab?" he paused. "…Why does that sound familiar?"

"Pikachu." '_Well, we got a key to look for. Might as well search high and low until your harem-_' Pikachu started.

"Pikachu, we have talked about this. Until Cyrus is either dead, imprisoned in the darkest hole I can find or otherwise made harmless, that is not an option." Ash said before he looked at Pikachu intently. "Besides, if you're talking about Iris, too, that's… just wrong. She needs as much work as I do. And OH BOY do I need help before I even think about it."

Speaking of, Kyoji was walking alongside Iris, catching up with them. "…so, yeah - that's the gist of it." He said, "Jackass is trying to end the world, you knew Ash in a past life, or past universe, and somehow because of it, Ash can talk to Pokemon with as much ease as you can talk to me. You got that?"

"…that is a lot to go over, and a lot that I'm having trouble believing…" Iris muttered.

"Well I would agree with you, but when I saw him casually chatting up with Celebi like they were old friends, and her agreeing with everything he said, it sorta leans into him telling the truth… plus, Ash doesn't take me as the kind of guy who'd lie about something _this _serious."

Ash looked behind him to see the pair, Kyoji looking pleased as punch and Iris looking like she ran a race against Pikachu. Oddly enough, that reddened face made her look very c-

'_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!_' Ash mentally screamed to try and kill that part of his brain.

"And there he is," Kyoji said before losing the smile. "Want to explain?"

"Why I just ran off? Well, my foot just went through the floor, so I think only one person should be in here." Ash said. "That and this place reminds me of something, but I don't know what."

"Yeah, I get that feeling to-" Kyoji said before turning his head. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what-"

_Du-dun._

Kyoji's Gible released himself and poked his head up in surprise "Gib?" '_Hello?_'

_Du-dun. Du-dun._

Ash's Gabite did the same and looked around. "Gab." '_I hear it…_'

"...where is that coming from?" Iris looked around, but Kyoji began to smile.

_Du-dun, du-dun, du-dun,du-dun,du-dun,du-dun,du-dun,du-dun,du-dun_!

A greyish-purple fin emerged from the flooring, as it sped towards Iris and…

"GIB!" '_HELLO!_'

CHOMP.

And thus was Iris introduced to Gible. And so was Kyoji as he and his Gible looked over the little guy.

"He's gray! And blue! And red!" he exclaimed.

"Gib!" '_Like Gabite!_' Kyoji's Gible said. "Gib…" '_So all mainland gibles are like this?_'

The land shark opened his eyes and saw the two looking at him. "Gib?" '_Are you with the people in the basement?_' he asked.

* * *

Outside, the TRio were keeping their distance.

"Didn't the Boss say he had a lab here?" James asked, knowing damn well they did.

"Yeah, the Mewtwo project." Jessie said before looking at her teammates. "…We're staying the hell away from that, right?"

You wish. Orders from Giovanni, remember?

"I know, we have to watch the kid and keep him alive, but we don't want to be anywhere near Dennis!" James said.

So true, but too bad.

"He hates us." Meowth said. "We don't gotta be in sight, right?"

Nope.

"Then change the scene already!" the TRio yelled.

* * *

"Pika?" '_Did Iris have a Gible when we went back?_' Pikachu asked.

"Don't know, don't care," Ash retorted before looking at Gible. "Hey, little guy. Did these guys have black and red on them?"

"Gib." '_Yeah. They hurt me a lot._' said the Gible as he sniffed Ash. "Gible?" '_Why do you smell like the one with black hair?_' the Gible asked, making Ash's blood boil.

That meant he was related to someone down there. His father was here. And a member of Team Rocket.

'…_He dies._' Ash thought. With that, Ash ran off, looking for a set of stairs.

"Ash, wait!" Kyoji cried, Ash and Gabite proving to be VERY fast. "How the hell does he run so fast?"

Iris didn't answer, more confused by the Gible nomming on her head. "…Is… this normal?"

The shinobi and yellow land shark facepalmed.

* * *

Giovanni sighed. "And THIS is why we don't keep Gibles." he said, noting the empty metal cage devoid of land shark brought in by Team Plasma. Idiots.

"Who cares?" Ghetsis said, waving it off. "It's one tortured land shark. Who's going to care?"

* * *

Ash found a stairwell leading to the basement rather quickly, charging down with Gabite behind him.

"Pikapi!" '_Ash, think this through! This is a Team Rocket base! With lots of Grunts! Probably Giovanni, too!_'

"I damn well HOPE so!" Ash said, furious. "If that Gible was telling the truth, then that son of a bitch is my father." Which only made Ash MORE pissed and somewhat justified in his feelings of romantic unworthiness.

He wasn't going to spawn any descendants of THAT son of a bitch.

"Pikachu-pi!" ''_I get it, but think this through! If it's true, then if you do this, you BECOME him!_' Pikachu said, Ash's pace slowing to a crawl, Gabite stopping just behind him as Ash processed that.

All his life, he avoided romance to avoid turning into his father. And with one angry thought, he nearly turned into him.

"Gabite." '_Pikachu's right. You're better than him._' the land shark said. "Gab!" '_But if you gotta hurt him, make sure he lives._'

"Yeah…" Ash said, eyes hard and determined. "He can't face justice if I kill him here."

* * *

**Cinnabar Island Mansion north side - same time**

* * *

"You sure?" Gisille asked as her team prepared to breach. "I don't want to piss off Blaine by ruining his lab."

"I'm sure." Joe said, nodding. "We saw Team Rocket AND Team Plasma grunts entering the building three days ago. They're down there. The only reason Blaine hasn't torched it is… well, because he's busy torching EVERYWHERE ELSE that remotely looks like a Rocket base."

"The Erika thing really put everyone's asses in gear, huh?" the former class pet asked.

"Yup." the deadlast replied.

"Well, you heard the man!" Giselle cried. "DIG!"

"DIG!" cried the Diglett squad as they burrowed insanely fast into the earth.

"No wonder Gibles hang around these things." Joe muttered.

* * *

Ash smashed the heads of a female Rocket and male Plasma grunt into a wall, hard enough to knock them out.

"Gab?" '_Aggressive much?_' Gabite asked.

"I just figured out Giovanni is my father." Ash deadpanned. "You know, the LEADER of TEAM FUCKING ROCKET? I have every right."

"Gabite." '…_true enough._' replied the land shark before they heard something cry out in pain.

"Increase the solution." said a female voice. "I want this damn thing ready for combat by the end of the week."

"Vuuuuuuuuiiiiii!" '_OWOWOWOWOOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOW!_' said a Pokemon Ash hadn't run into yet in Kanto, purposefully avoiding Stone Town.

He _did_ send Tranquill over there to provide a list of Eeveelutions for Mikey, though.

"An Eevee?" he said, looking in, finding a lab filled with science equipment, with a glass bell trapping the Evolution Pokemon inside, electrodes and an Iv being injected into the poor thing. "Eevu…" '_This… hurts…_' the Eevee said, her pained cries weak and low until they shocked her again.

"…Pikapi." 'Ash, if anyone other then Hunter J, Cyrus or Dennis deserve to die, these assholes are among that number.' Pikachu stated, pissed off at them torturing a Pokemon.

"I'm not going to kill them." Ash said darkly as he looked at the scientists at work. "I believe in fair play. And they should suffer as that Eevee suffers."

"…Pika." 'You sound like Giovanni.' Pikachu said worryingly.

"Well, might as well take a page from the old man. Mind shocking them halfway to the afterlife?" Ash asked, Pikachu nodding.

* * *

Eevee was slowly becoming unconscious once more, the Rocket scientists complaining about the 'lack of results'.

She didn't care: screw them. They could burn.

She heard a cry of pain from outside. It was probably a hallucination again, as she opened her eyes, watching as they were electrocuted from some unknown source.

Oh, that would be nice. Let them get zapped like she did. Happy dreams.

Then the glass smashed open and she was greeted by warm brown eyes.

"You ok?" asked the trainer, who was removing the IV and the wires attached to her.

"Vui?" '_I'm… not dreaming?_' she asked.

"I ask myself that question every day for the last two and a half months." he said. "Sadly for me, no, it's not a dream."

"Pika." '_Assholes subdued._' said a Pikachu before something began breathing dragonfire on them. "Pika!" '_Gabite, we want them alive!_'

"GAB!" '_I WANT THEM TO SUFFER!_' cried a Gabite, a rare sight in Kanto. Gibles were uncommon: go with the Diglett, find a Gible. Gabites? They tended to stick to Sinnoh.

Still, a trainer. …Oh, _hell _no. She wasn't escaping from ONE prison just to end up in another!

"E… Evvv…" '_I.. I don't…_' She groaned, trying to stand up, to move away - but she couldn't find the strength to walk properly. "V-vee…" '_c-captured… again…_'

"Save your strength, girl." the trainer said, pulling out a potion bottle and spraying oran berry concentrate on her wounds. "Pikachu, you stay with Eevee and get her out of here. I'll deal with Team Rocket."

"Pikapi!" '_Ash, I'm the most powerful Pokemon you have; even Charizard_-'

"Eevee is your priority now, not me!" the trainer, Ash, interrupted. "Stick with her, get her out of here! Gabite, you want to mess up the Rockets?"

"Bite!" '_You have to _ask?!' cried the land shark excitedly. Eevee had no idea what to make of this trainer.

He freed her, left his starter with her to protect her...and had no intentions of capturing her, if the lack of Pokeball had any say in it.

For now, Eevee just planted her head into the container's bottom. She needed a damn nap.

* * *

Upstairs, Kyoji and the girls (Misty and Anabel finally caught up) found the stairway.

"How the hell is he this lucky AND this fast?!" Kyoji asked, honestly confused, even as Gible tried to make Iris turn back with frantic 'Gible's.

"The stories my astral self could tell you." Misty said. "You know how he caught Goomy in the first timeline? He fell, literally out of the sky, onto his head. I can tell you the time he caught Gible, his Noctowl-"

"He has a Noctowl?" he asked, unable to believe. "WHY DID HE NOT TELL ME?!"

"For the same reason he used the same Noctowl to beat the shit out of the Pokemon Tech brats." Misty snarked.

Kyoji did not argue this point. "So...who wants to go into the creepy dark basement the purple land shark doesn't want to go back into?" he asked.

"Gib! Gib!" cried aforementioned land shark, still on Iris' head.

"Maybe I can stay up here?" Iris suggested. "Keep Gible calm?"

"Good idea." Misty said. "This is your first day with Ash: you're not ready for this sort of thing yet."

Iris looked at the recovering tomboy. "...What sort of thing?" she asked.

"Saving the freaking world." the redhead answered.

* * *

Giovanni facepalmed. "He's HERE?" he asked over the radio to the only grunts he could trust. It was a sad day when he had to rely on the TRio.

"_Yes, Boss_." James answered. "_You see, he came here for Blaine's badge, but the key's in the mansion_-"

"Oh, goddamn it." Giovanni muttered. Blaine REALLY hated him. "Well, it was inevitable. Continue your mission. As long as you exist, Team Rocket lives."

And that was a low, LOW standard for existing. Then again, Patel was fucking insane, so it was fucked anyways.

He hung up, Ghetsis, the smug fuck, walking over. "Problems?" he asked, smirking.

"You could say-" Giovanni said before a wall exploded, caused by a Draco Meteor, raining debris on his grunts and scientists.

Standing at the hole was a very pissed off Gabite. Beside him, Ash Ketchum.

His nephew. Heir to Delia's legacy. He was doomed.

Ash drew his handmade Unovan-designed handgun, pointing it at Giovanni before seeing Ghetsis and doing the same with the Rocket machine pistol he took from Proton.

"Giovanni." Ash spat, paining the old man his hate. "And Dennis." Oh, _that_ made everything better.

"First your mother, now you?!" Ghetsis spat, fuming at the name. "It is GHETSIS! GHETSIS!"

"Right now?" Ash said as he held both men in his sights. "I don't care. Two of the most evil men I know, in the same place. I know it's too early to be my birthday, but I'm not arguing."

Giovanni stood proud. Ash wouldn't shoot him. "I would advise you lower your weapon, Ash Ketchum." he said, his knowing Ash's name not having the effect he thought it would, only making him MORE mad.

"I'm not listening to you, _Dad_," Ash spat. Giovanni blinked at that, confused.

Dad? He wasn't… Oh. The hair, the temper, the… everything.

That made him retch somewhat. Delia was his SISTER, damn it. That was just WRONG.

"I'm not into incest." Giovanni shook his head.

There was a long moment of silence, as Ash seemed to recoil when he said that. "...what?"

"I'm not your father, Ash." The Rocket leader sighed, "I'm your _Uncle_ \- on your _Mother's _side."

There was _another _long moment of silence, and then…

"WHAT?!"

"...yeah, its no wonder she didn't tell you," Giovanni sighed, "Granted, I figured she would have at least clarified _that _much… your mother use to be a member of our organization back when our… _goals _were more in sync… when they diverged, she left to be with your Father. The sole condition… is that I do everything in my power to keep Team Rocket _away _from you, and Pallet Town… of course SOME PEOPLE!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "HAVE DIFICULTY FOLLOWING MY FUCKING ORDERS!"

He took a calming breath after that outburst, before he continued "Which was _why _I had one of my most _loyal _members follow and observe you - because out of _everyone _in my entire organization… those three idiots are the only ones smart enough to _not _disregard one of my orders."

"...don't tell me you mean-"

"Jessie, James and Meowth," Geovanni sighed, "Yes yes, they're not my first pick, but they're my _best _pick while I've been running around the world running damage control for my idiot subordinates."

Ash just looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "...that's bullshit." He muttered, "Why go through all this trouble to protect _ME_?! You're a criminal!"

"Yes, I'm a Criminal." Geovanni nodded, "But I may be the most powerful man in the world… but the one thing I fear more than _all _the Shadow Pokemon in the world… is your mother."

"...what?"

"Your mother helped me _build _this organization, Mr. Ketchum." He explained, "And you can make damn sure that she knows _exactly _how to take it apart piece by piece with the surgical precision of a doctor with a scalpel. That's why I've been doing everything in my power to keep you alive - to keep _her _off my FUCKING ASS!"

"Wait, wait…" Ash rose his free hand up. "If… if you're not my father… who is?"

Giovanni didn't get the chance to answer as a revolver was put to his head. "I hate to interrupt this touching reunion…" Ghetsis said, faux-sadly as he cocked the hammer back. "But I have far better things to do."

"I would say something about cursing your betrayal, Ghetsis…" Giovanni trailed off before looking the older man in his singular eye. "But I saw this coming. Shoot him."

Gunfire rang out from behind the bosses, bullets hitting his coat, the rounds bouncing off what appeared to be body armor as Giovanni dived behind a tank.

"Aim for his head, damn it! The coat is armored!" Giovanni yelled as he drew his own sidearm to do just that.

Ghetsis cackled before raising his arm, the cap of his cane falling off to reveal the barrel of a gun as he aimed it at Ash, who dove for cover as he opened fire, Gabite doing the same as it wasn't bulletproof just yet.

Ash crawled towards Giovanni, taking cover behind the lab equipment when gunfire got too close, Gabite burping out fire as he did from his own spot of cover.

He finally reached Giovanni, who was firing at Ghetsis and assisting his grunts on occasion. "If you have questions, now is not the time!" the Rocket Boss declared as he ran dry, dropping a clip before reloading.

"What happened to my father, if you're not lying?" Ash said as Ghetsis racked their position with bullets. "And just so you know, I know you do lie. A LOT."

"Comes with the job, nephew." Giovanni said before a clang was heard, a bullet getting too close for their liking. "I won't tell you his name; that's not my place. But I will say this: he saved you from a Shadow Pokemon and died in the process." Giovanni fired blindly over their cover, a scream indicating he killed one of Ghetsis' grunts. "It was a legendary, one that was missing for almost 90 years, since that fool Wes dealt with Cipher the first time round."

Ash tried to process that. A Shadow Legendary? What could've…

He remembered to that day he left Pallet Town. Ho-oh looking at him with eyes of…

"Ho-Oh." Ash breathed, not believing it.

"You remember. Good: that saves me the trouble." Giovanni said as his weapon ran empty again. "If this thing wasn't reliable, I would have started using those Kalosian guns the grunts use instead!"

"Team Rocket will die with you, Giovanni!" Ghetsis laughed as he reloaded. "The time of Plasma has come!"

* * *

Pikachu was not happy. His trainer willingly went to face Arceus knew what without his most powerful asset.

Let us be clear: Charizard, Krookodile, Greninja and all those? Pikachu could swat them down and they _knew_ it.

Unless you were a complete idiot and ignored them, the starter was ALWAYS the most powerful Pokemon on your team, be it through brute force, tactics or agility. Pikachu was a mix of all three, now and in the past.

And instead of using his steel-clad tail to knock out poison-types or remove unnecessary limbs, he was five flights up, escorting an Eevee out. This was a waste of his time.

"Eevui." '_I can go the rest of the way,_' the fluffball said, barely getting up another stair. "Vui." '_Go to your trainer._'

"Pikapi." '_Ash told me to get you out of here and I am doing just that,_' Pikachu retorted. "Pikachu." '_Once your normal-type ass is out of the building, THEN I'm coming back down here and going to end the careers of many, MANY grunts._'

Eevee looked at him in terror, shrinking at his rage. "Eevee…" '_You're not normal. You're a Shadow Pokemon,_' she said, fearful of what he would do to her.

Fortunately, Pikachu had no intentions of doing anything to her. "Pikachu." '_I'm in control of myself, not attacking you. I am not going to hurt you, just the bucketloads of assholes down below that tortured you within an inch of your life,_' he said. "Pika." '_You didn't deserve this._'

"Eevui." '_I don't know WHAT I deserve. I just want out,_' she said as she got up, her pain ebbing away. "Vui." '_I've been in one human facility or another all my life: I've never SEEN the outside._'

Pikachu looked at her in confusion. "Pi?" '_You were captive-bred?_' he asked.

Eevee nodded. Vee." '_Don't know who, but I've changed hands so many times, it doesn't matter,_' she said before footsteps came from above.

"How. The hell. Can he. MOVE THIS FAST?!" yelled a male voice, panting as he came into view, revealing himself to be Kyoji, tired as sin. "There is no way he can…" he trailed off as he looked down. "Oh, hey, Pikachu." he said before seeing Eevee and picking her up. "Awwwwww… an Eevee. He's so CUTE!"

"VEE!" '_I'm a girl!_' she cried before biting his hand, making him drop her.

"Damn it! Last time I call an Eevee cute." Kyoji muttered.

"Gible!" '_Hi!_' said Kyoji's mutant Gible, who got ready to make the usual Gible greeting until Pikachu used Iron Tail and stopped him with a wall of steel.

"Pika." 'S_he was tortured by Team Rocket. Leave her alone_.' he said, making Gible back off..

"Pikachu, what the hell are you doing here?" Kyoji asked, nursing his hand. "Where's Ash?"

Pikachu pointed down, then looked at Eevee. "Pika." '_They can take you up the rest of the way,_' he said.

"Vui!" '_They're trainers!_' she said, worried for her safety if he just left her with them.

"Pika!" '_And they won't catch you unless you ask; just go!_' Pikachu said before rushing back down, heedless of cries from Kyoji or Ash's girls, once they got in view.

He had a brother to save.

* * *

Ash got away from Giovanni in the ensuring firefight: grunts, Rocket and Plasma, were trying to kill each other and mostly succeeding. He got into another room when he saw a pair of tanks, glowing with lights installed in the top of each tank.

"You have _got _to be kidding me." he said as he got a good look at them.

Long, purple tail and belly, gray-white fur, a feline appearance…

And Ash was INTIMATELY familiar with both of them. After all, one of them, with a fair bit of assistance, managed to _kill_ him.

"The _last _thing I need to deal with are the goddamn Mew clones," Ash said before hearing the door on the other end of the lab opening, revealing someone much like himself.

In that he wore a cap and had a similar ensemble of jacket, shirt and pants. That was all they had in common.

His hair was a hell of a lot longer. And green.

"You must be the intruder. The _trainer_," he said, spitting the word, his voice being familiar to Ash. "Father always said trainers ruin Team Plasma's plans for Pokemon liberation."

'_Great, I have to deal with N. One that DOESN'T know Ghetsis is an evil son of a bitch,_' Ash thought, remembering his few encounters with him after Ghetsis attempted summoning one of the dragons and discovering that his 'father' was evil as all hell.

"Well, if your dad wasn't being a total asshole and trying to force Pokemon and people that love each other apart, maybe we wouldn't be thwarting his plans all the time," Ash retorted, reaching for Charizard's Pokeball.

"Love? I have seen the nature of trainers!" N said. "They abuse and hurt Pokemon, making them fight for no good reason! You are no different!"

"I _always _give them a choice," Ash snapped back. "If they want to join my family, they can. If they don't, they don't." Ash expanded Charizard's Pokeball. "So I suggest you get out more and-"

N raised something that looked like a cross between a firehose and an electron gun, firing a stream of gas at Ash, specifically the hand holding the Pokeball.

The ball began melting, glowing hot as it dripped into Ash's hand, making him scream in pain.

Eventually, the Pokeball's systems failed, forcing Charizard out before the internals fried.

"Char?" '_Ash, what happened?!_' Charizard asked before seeing Ash's hand covered in melted Pokeball, screaming as it solidified.

"You are free, Charizard, that is what happened!" N cried, spreading his arms wide as if to embrace him. "Go, leave your imprisoner and-"

Charizard roared and grabbed N by the neck, getting ready to crush his throat. "CHAR!" '_You hurt my trainer! The man I consider a brother in arms!_' He roared into N's face, fire gathering in the back of his throat. "Char!" '_I don't care what you did before. NOW YOU DIE!_'

Charizard tossed him into one of the Mewtwo tanks, cracking it, alarms blaring, but Charizard did not care. This perversion of Ash's friend was going to die and he would die PAINFULLY, for there was nothing he treasured, other than his mate, than the bond with his trainer.

With his Pokeball gone, N just declared war on him and Ash. And in this timeline, that was asking to die.

"Zoru!" '_Get away from N!_' cried N's hat as it turned into a red and black fox, jumping on Charizard's snort.

Charizard simply grabbed the Zorua in his talons. "Char." '_Your master fucked with my brother, you stupid shit._' Charizard said. "Char!" '_And NO ONE fucks with my brother!_' That yell ended with Zorua being torched, then thrown into a wall, the concrete cracking on impact.

The situation got worse as Gabite got into the room. "Bite?!" '_Ash?! What happened?!_' he cried, looking at his trainer, finding the melted Poke Ball fused to his hand, then looking at N, who was trying to get up.

"Bite!" '_Did you do this?!_' Gabite asked, royally pissed as dragonfire gathered in his maw. "BITE!" 'ANSWER ME, YOU GREEN-HAIRED LITTLE SHIT!'

"I… freed Charizard. Why…" he said, confused as he got up. "Why would he not want that?"

"GABITE!" '_YOU HURT ASH!_' Gabite yelled, then started glowing. Team Plasma grunts rushed in, firing at the land shark, but there was a good reason no one bothered attacking an evolving Pokemon, other than being considered bad taste.

It was _pointless_: the infinity energy that all Pokemon had made them proof against all forms of attack, save Arceus using Judgement on them. Fire, water, steel, fairy, even human means like bullets. It was thought even a _nuke_ wouldn't do a thing, but no one was wanting to test that.

In short, Gabite was bulletproof, even as his form grew, changing, gaining a second fin, a fluke to his tail and getting MUCH bigger, as tall as Charizard.

The Plasma idiots stopped firing at that point, as they were almost out of ammo. Not that anything short of a 20mm cannon shell would help them.

"GARCHOMP!" '_NOW YOU ALL DIE!_' yelled the angry Mach Pokemon as he charged at them.

* * *

**Entry 37:** Team Plasma

Born in the early days after the Cipher War, Team Plasma is an extremist political-militia, whose stated goal is 'Pokemon Liberation', ie the separation of Pokemon from humans.

In reality, their leader, Ghetsis, believes he is descendant from the old Unovan royal family, using Unova's political system against itself to take control of the country, leaving only his people as users of Pokemon to enforce his rule.

Team Plasma has been fragmented twice, both times by Delia Sekai, under her more well-known alias Delia Ketchum, destroying almost all traces of Team Plasma during her journey there. Ghetsis had to wait until Delia went into retirement to begin rebuilding.

Recently, Team Plasma has been working with Team Rocket to build up their resources and finances after Delia 'came out of retirement', but as of Ghetsis' attempted assassination of Giovanni, we are now officially at war with Team Plasma. Kill their grunts on sight.

* * *

**Entry 38:** Gible/Garchomp

Garchomp is the final stage of the Gible evolutionary line, officially called the Mach Pokemon for their ability to fly at speeds in excess of Mach 1.8, but more commonly referred to as 'air sharks' due to being the final form of Gible and still resembling the great white shark.

Garchomp are universally aggressive, but while male Garchomp are commonly blamed as the worse, ironically, it is the females of the species that are the most aggressive of the species, proven when Cynthia Shirona's Garchomp, upon evolving, while literally ripped the legs off a sexist trainer who insulted her.

Ash Ketchum's Garchomp evolved during the incident on Cinnabar Island, after seeing the effects of a Team Plasma plasma phase disruptor on a Pokeball. Most of the time, Garchomp uses evolite to revert to being a Gible outside of training and combat. By this point, everyone knows Ash is the Boss' nephew, so while we don't need to say it, all surviving grunts are ordered to AVOID Ketchum. When defending his trainer, he shows aggression levels only seen in _female_ Garchomp.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: -Look, Lorgar, if you don't drop this, I'm siccing your brother on you. (Pause) The one that can **_**kick your ass, moron**_**. Gulliman, who else?! That and his Eldar girlfriend. THAT'S a power couple one doth not fuck with. Good? Thank you. By the way, fuck Chaos. (Hangs up phone) You have no idea how ANNOYING it is to deal with Lorgar. Regardless, back on topic. Ghetsis, N, Mewtwo and most importantly, Garchomp! And yes, that is why no one bothers attacking while they evolve. It's not just them being dumbfounded: there's NO POINT.**

**Takeshi Yamato: True enough. And N has just learned what is most likely the most important lesson of his life: DO. NOT. HURT. ASH.**

**Ron the True Fan: Think of it like this: Ash trips on his face, they laugh. Someone shoots him or burns a Pokeball on his hand? Well, you might as well hand them a paper, have them sign it and tell them it's their death warrant, then tell one of them to go nuts and watch the bloody fireworks.**

**117Jorn: It's a shame N in this timeline is an indoctrinated tool… *pets Natu as he nests on his head***

**Ron the True Fan: **_**Pokemon Black **_**and **_**White**_**, Jorn. This is simply an extension of his depiction in the first two games of Generation 5. I do not want to spoil, but Unova will be much less **_**BW **_**and more **_**B2W2**_**.**

**Takeshi Yamato: True enough. Still, brainwashed pawns can be found just about anywhere. You just need to find the right way to get through the brainwashing. A good knock to the head always works - or a thrashing by a giant green rage monster.**

**Ron the True Fan: in this case, copious amounts of pain from Pokemon under the ownership of a trainer that is the polar opposite of which he has been exposed to will start THAT process. Just don't expect him to be recurring. I wanted to shoot him MULTIPLE times in my run of **_**White **_**and if he shows up more than necessary outside of Unova, I WILL end him. I am NOT fond of N for his role in the first two games of Gen 5. As you might guess, I am not a fan of lawful **_**stupid**_**.**

**Further weapon list for the Tropers out there:  
Ghetsis: modified BAR (the M1918 Browning Auto-Rifle, not the place you get drunk)**

**Ja Ne!**


	26. Chapter 25: Fire and Flame

**Ron the True Fan: Team Plasma has more than just Ash to deal with.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yep. The Pokemon Tech Kids make another appearance!**

**Ron the True Fan: And for clarification, no, Giovanni is not Ash's father: one, disgusting, as Delia is his sister in this timeline and two, Ash is jumping to conclusions. This happens. His father will be revealed in this arc. And by arc, I do not mean Cinnabar. I mean regional arc.**

* * *

**Cinnabar Island - -Secret Rocket Labs - 1625 hours local time - Day 72 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

Kyoji poked his head around a corner, finding a collapsed wall with wounded or dead Rockets and Plasma grunts, seeing them full of bullet holes or otherwise injured by Pokemon.

"Ouch." he said as he looked at one of the bodies before a rifle cocked from the direction of the ruined wall.

Which happened to be a tunnel. "Identify yourself." asked a young woman with brown hair, looking rather pretty for her age. Looked like a bit of a bitch, though.

"Kyoji Akamura. Lower the weapon, lady: I'm looking for a friend." he said, standing up with his hands raised.

"If your friend is with either of the teams, he's dead," she deadpanned, rifle still pointed at him.

"Actually, he's been kicking their asses." Kyoji said, lowering his hands slowly. "You heard of Ash-"

"Ketchum?" she said, cutting him off, lowering her weapon. "We're actually here because of him. He saved us because of Team Rocket and we decided to deal with them." she smirked. "Did some damage, too. Giselle, formally of Pokemon Tech."

"Well, a friend of Ash is a friend of mine." Kyoji said with a smile, with Gible poking around the corner.

"GIBLE!" he cried before launching towards her head, latching onto her head with a mighty chomp.

Before anyone could react, an explosion shook the ground below. "That's not good," Giselle said before there were MORE explosions.

"There's a security room this way." Giselle said, gesturing down the hall. "We'll find out what's going on using the cameras." She then pried Gible off her head, staring at the fact he was yellow for a moment before running towards the security office.

Kyoji followed, Gible trailing after him as they entered the room, finding a bunch of kids in school uniforms manning the place. "Your… classmates?" he asked Giselle.

"Yes. The school was gone and Ash served as a bit of inspiration against Team Rocket," she said before they found a camera on the lower floors, seeing a Garchomp ripping apart the Plasma grunts on the CRT, sometimes literally.

"Ash's Garchomp evolved." Kyoji deadpanned. Gibles were nice and calm, Gabites had a temper...Garchomps were 'piss off and die'. His eyes focused on a tank, with something…

"Zoom in on that." he said to one of the IT students, who looked to Giselle.

"Do it, Joe," she said, with him controlling the camera's pitch and zoom, closing in on the tank.

"What the hell kind of Pokemon is that?" Kyoji asked, horrified at seeing something like a Mew in a tank. "It looks like a bigger… deformed version of Mew…"

"Project Mewtwo." Giselle said. "We came across files of the project in some of our raids. I'm more concerned with that." she pointed at a figure kneeling in extreme pain, clutching his hand. It was Ash.

"What the hell did he do this time?" she said. "Alright, Joe, find out where enemy forces are, we'll take care of them. Mr. Akamura, if you don't mind helping Ash get out of here?"

"His girlfriends would kill me if I didn't," Kyoji said, getting a look from Giselle. "It's a bit of a joke. We have two ladies traveling with us that… REALLY like Ash. He's trying to be nice and not get involved and all-"

"I know," she said, waving it off. "He and Misty weren't together when they got to the school. Just get him out of there before his Garchomp accidentally kills him."

* * *

Giovanni got to a control panel as Ash's VERY pissed off Garchomp engaged Ghetsis' equally pissed off Hydreigon with the assistance of Charizard.

The Charizard was NOT happy at seeing the thing. As in 'trying to rip off one of its' heads' and very close to succeeding.

"Note to self: never piss off that Charizard," he said as he lowered one of the tanks to the floor below, where he and Shelder would teleport it back to Viridian. Blaine could torch the place if he wanted: the other Mewtwo had already teleported away, the signature heading for Unova, if the equipment for teleport tracking was still working properly.

Any hope for the plan to work now was gone: with Ash, those students and his sister destroying everything in sight across Kanto, Team Rocket as it was couldn't do much to the League. Still, he was alive and could rebuild. Maybe actually take control of the underworld and actually make sure they WEREN'T a pain in the League's ass just to keep his sister off his.

As for the Mewtwo? He was keeping it under the Gym: that thing was dangerous, emanating psychic power even while unconscious.

Another explosion went off, unrelated to the war between the pseudo-legendaries.

"Blaine." he muttered before going down a ladder. This was not his day.

* * *

Garchomp bit down on the Hydreigon's middle neck, fully intending to rip the dragon/dark-type apart, Charizard using Metal Claw on his wings to try and cripple him. Needless to say, Garchomp was having a VERY bad day after evolving.

He didn't consider himself a violent Pokemon - in fact, he prefered being cute and happy as a Gible, hence why he was so envious of Kyoji's Gible, able to Chomp as much as it liked without endangering anyone. But he _could _get angry when his friends were hurt.

But this man, and his Hydreigon… they hurt Ash. His Trainer… his 'father' in a way…

…that cute and innocent stuff would have to wait. Garchomp wanted to vent his anger out, and this Hydreigon was… _unfortunately_ the closest thing he could vent his anger on.

The Hydreigon was more powerful than both of them, but it was also blind and they were an enclosed space. They both roared to confuse it, making it attack a wall before they latched on, biting, clawing and otherwise injuring the dragon.

It was cheap. But it was also much more powerful then both of them and a threat to Ash, who was unable to assist, given he was barely conscious.

Having a Pokeball melting onto your hand was NOT something that anyone wanted. Especially since it was akin to pouring molten metal onto you without having dipped your hand in water first. Ash was lucky to be conscious.

An explosion and fire flooded the corridor outside, Ghetsis scowling. "That old bastard is STILL alive?" he said, scowling for some reason. "I don't have time to deal with Ketchum's spawn AND Blaine!" Ghetsis returned Hydreigon, glancing at the gun he was forced to leave behind before shaking his head and ran to the lab. "N! We're leaving!"

The injured greenette, nursing a bruised throat and several cracked ribs, dragged himself up, limping.

"CHOMP!" '_GET BACK HERE!_' yelled Garchomp, only for him to fall on his face, exhausted. "Chooommmmppp…' '_So tired…_'

"Char." '_You fought a pseudo-legendary after evolving,_' Charizard said, winded himself. "Har." '_I'm not in the best shape myself, but I didn't just evolve._'

Garchomp blinked. "Chomp?" '_I evolved?_' he said before looking at himself, seeing the bigger fins on his arms and back. "Chomp!" '_I evolved! I can be a Gible again!_'

Pikachu then entered the lab, seeing the damage and what happened to Garchomp. "Pika?" '_What the hell?_' he asked.

"Char." '_Long story. Check on Ash. He has… well…_'

Charizard explained.

Pikachu's reaction was beyond description, beyond saying he wanted to kill N now.

* * *

**Outside the Cinnabar Mansion - 1650 hours local time**

* * *

Eevee laid down to take a nap, finding grass to be better than metal.

She thought to that trainer, Ash. He freed her, taking no award for it.

"Pony?" '_What's an Eevee doing here?_' asked a fire horse about five times taller then she was if she was rearing on her hind legs as he sniffed her.

Eevee panicked, jumping away. "Vee!" '_Who are you?!_' she yelled, gathering ghost-type energy for a Shadow Ball.

"Pony." '_No need to yell at an old horse,_' the Ponyta said before he laid down. "Ta." '_Eevees don't normally come around on Cinnabar._'

"Vui." '_Aren't they?_' she asked, laying down again, relaxing. "Vui." '_I have no idea what it's like out… here._'

"Pon." '_A breeder farm Pokemon,_' the horse said. "Ta." '_That's sad. You don't know what it's like to be loved, what the world is like… a good trainer…_'

Evvee scoffed. "Eeveui." '_No such thing,_' she spat.

The fire horse sighed. "Ponyta." '_Once, there were thousands. Millions. Then the Shadow came. My trainer had to release me here to take care of what few he had left,_' he said, sighing in melancholy. "Ponyta…" '_What I wouldn't give for a trainer that gave more of themself for nothing more then the feeling of doing the right thing._'

Eevee blinked. Ash let her go for no reason. He didn't catch her, didn't promise to come back for her and sent Pikachu to get her out of that place.

"…Vui." '_I think one freed me,_' she admitted.

The horse nodded, laying his head down. "Ta." '_That's nice. You should see if he's ok. Trainers get in so much trouble…_' he said, yawning. "Onyta…" '_What I wouldn't give… to see my trainer again…_'

Eevee got up. Maybe trainers weren't all bad. "Vui." '_I think I will. Where would he be?_' she asked, tilting her head.

"Ta." '_The Pokemon Center. It's white with a Pokeball on the front,_' the old fire horse said before laying down, sighing.

"Vui!" '_Thanks. I'll see if he can catch you, too,_' Eevee said, not noticing he wasn't breathing before she ran off.

* * *

**Cinnabar Labs - same time**

* * *

Blaine was an old man, but not a heartless one. He loved riddles, just to amuse his challengers and himself.

But seeing that Pokeball melted onto this young man's hands…

"Team Plasma. They just won't DIE," the man all but sneered. "I'll have to talk to Gaffery and Delia about this." He turned to two of his Ace trainers, both young Jennies with Growlethe, training to take over for their older counterparts in Unova. "Get him to the Pokemon Center! They'll get that shit off his hand!"

The bluenettes saluted, getting a stretcher before a Rocket was shoved into the room by a jet of water, a young, pretty redhead with a Staryu… '_Ah, Misty. How the hell did she get here?_' Blaine thought. Misty wouldn't've been able to get any further then just south of Viridian before she had her panic fests.

He scowled, his moustache twitching at being cheated of killing those Shadow Pokemon. He liked Misty: sharp girl before the incident.

"Misty!" he said, getting her attention.

"Uncle Blaine!" she cried, happily walking over to him. "You were busy."

"I had to nuke my way into the place. I hope my old Ponyta wasn't nearby." he said, feeling sorry that he didn't go back for him. "Why are you here?"

"I came here with a trainer-ASH!" she cried, seeing the Jennies carrying him out on a stretcher, seeing the Pokeball melted onto his hands. "How in the name of Arceus?!"

"Team Plasma. They like doing that to unsuspecting trainers," Blaine said, sighing. "Ghetsis won't DIE and make our lives easier, will he?" Of COURSE he wouldn't: life support, surgery, deals with Giratina, he used ANYTHING to extend his life.

"It's… melted onto his hand," Misty said, wincing at the sight.

"They can remove it at the Pokemon Center. That being said… he's going to need new skin," Blaine was NOT looking forward to that.

* * *

**Cinnabar Pokemon Center - 15 minutes later**

* * *

"SWEET FUCKING CREATORS!" the local Joy yelled as she saw what happened to Ash's hand as Blaine and Ash's group entered the Center. "Who did THAT?!"

"Team Plasma. Get that laser powered up!" Blaine ordered. "He needs this thing off his hand pronto or he'll lose it!"

The Chancey grabbed his stretcher from the Jennies, taking him to the back of the Pokemon Center.

"A laser?" Kyoji asked. "You're not serious. You can't just take a chisel to the melted ball and pry the pieces off his hand?"

"You've never seen a Pokeball melted into someone's hand, have you, boy?" Blaine asked the Ransaian. "It bonds to the molecules of whatever is attached to it: that's why they're so difficult to destroy. You need either ionized plasma or the heat of a sun to do that. Even crushing one only merely damages the internal mechanisms!"

"…shit," He muttered, looking at his own Pokeball. "…never realized just how near-indestructible these things were…"

"The older they get, the more fragile they get. But the newer ones can take a nuclear explosion and survive, the Pokemon inside unharmed." Blaine said before they heard Ash scream from the back, the old man wincing. "That laser's going to do damage to more than that Pokeball. I'll call for a reconstructive surgery team." Blaine then looked at Misty. "Tell your boyfriend that he doesn't have to look for the key. Forcing them off my island is worth a lot more than a gym battle."

"Uh, Blaine-" Misty started before Blaine looked back at the redhead, grinning.

"I know he's not really your boyfriend. Yet," he said, smirking happily. "Give it time! I want to see at least one of you girls happily married." With that, the Cinnabar Gym leader left the Pokemon Center.

"Your sisters…" Iris started to ask before Misty sighed.

"Too busy with the gym. Besides, they're lesbians," Misty said before another scream caught their attention. "They couldn't find ANOTHER way to get that thing off his hand?!"

"Cipher War," Anabel said as an answer.

"If I ever see a Cipher Peon, I'm going to shoot him." Misty muttered, Iris looking away sheepishly.

* * *

**RMS **_**Aquitania**_ **\- Docking at Cinnabar Island - 0915 hours local time - Day 76**

* * *

While lacking some of the _Olympic_-Class' features, the _Aquitania_ was a lot faster. And the two teams were glad for it.

"Instead of five months, we're here in two," Grace said, checking everything. "I'll be going back to Kalos after I talk with Delia. You sure-" Serena glared at her mother for even thinking about that suggestion. "Ooook, then. Well, you'll be seeing more of the Rotan Palace then Vanille Town, anyways."

"Froak." '_It is time to leave. Ash has been in intense pain for the last few days,_' the frog said, his right hand twitching.

"Rowl?" '_How would you know?_' Rowlet asked, not in the know on this.

"Haw." '_The Bond Phenomenon,_' Hawlucha answered. "Cha." '_It boosts Greninja's strength and power by giving him a form we dubbed 'Ash-Greninja' because it looked like him and Greninja. There IS a drawback, though._'

"Meow?" '_Let me guess,_' Meowth asked. '_What one feels, the other feels?_'

"Froakie Fro." '_Yes. It feels like my hand was dipped in molten steel,_' Froakie said. "Froak." '_Come. He needs us._'

"Grub." '_You even know where to go?_' Grubbin asked, eating a pellet of food, everyone glaring at him for eating while talking.

"Froak." '_The local Pokemon Center,_' he answered before Serena screamed in pure rage.

"THEY DID WHAT?!"

* * *

**Cinnabar Pokemon Center - roughly the same time**

* * *

"The good news is, your nails will grow back," the doctor said as he poked Ash's palm with a pin, getting a pain response each time. "The problem is, you will not be able to use this hand for anything save picking up a spoon for the next two months."

Ash glared at the doctor, but said nothing before wincing again.

"The pain's a good thing. It means your nerves are intact. You can cut that time down to a single month with a Pokemon using Heal Pulse." he said, looking at the only Pokemon that refused to leave, other than Pikachu. "Your Riolu should be able to handle that."

"Ri!" '_Anything to help you recover,_' Riolu said, making an adorable salute. It made Ash smile. Riolu had been working his rear off back at the Ranch, but came to Cinnabar with a transfer, putting Natu back at the Ranch while Charizard flew back to get recaught in a new ball.

"Thanks." Ash said before the doctor left, allowing Kyoji and Iris into the room, Misty and Anabel dealing with a rather excitable Garchomp.

"So… how's it going?" Kyoji asked.

"My hand hurts and I can't throw Pokeballs with it." Ash answered sourly. "I haven't been doing too many captures other than the old guys, but still… That's kinda how I switch Pokemon in battles."

"Well, at least you got three very pretty nurses!" Kyoji said, Iris blushing before glaring at him. "That reminds me, what was your relationship with Iris back in the old timeline? I've been meaning to ask."

Ash sighed, even as Iris looked at him expectantly. "We didn't meet under the best terms," he said. "My Pokedex identified an Axew, I threw a ball in a bush… I hit her in the head."

Kyoji stifled a laugh at that. "I'm serious. She refused to leave me alone even as I made my way further into Unova. It took weeks before we stopped arguing." Ash said seriously. "Mostly because of Cilan joining us after our battle."

"And when did you start-"

"It was slow," Ash said cutting him off. "I only really noticed after we encountered the Swords of Justice, Unova's version of the Legendary Beasts," THAT got Iris' attention.

"We encountered the Swords of Justice?" she breathed out, awed by even being mentioned in the same sentence as them. "How?!"

"Their apprentice, Keldeo." Ash said, before rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand. "Or something like that. Didn't figure it out: didn't care at the time. I was too interested in just wanting to help them with Kyurem."

Iris shuddered at the mention of the Legendary Ice Dragon of Unova, duo master for the long-since missing Tao Duo.

"Anyway, I just ignored it. Vow of celibacy and all that," Ash said, getting serious again. "Which I am doubling down on now."

Koyji sighed, annoyed at the subject. The Ranseian didn't get it. "Ash, I know you're not comfortable-"

"My father is Giovanni!" Ash snapped, making Kyoji recoil at the utter rage in his voice. "The Boss for Team Rocket. He said he wasn't, but he's a habitual liar, so I'm not believing a damn word out of his mouth. And I am not going to add to HIS legacy."

"…he said he _wasn't _your father?" Kyoji rose his brow.

"Yeah, made some bullshit excuse about my mom being a former Rocket," Ash rolled his eyes, "Yeah right… I'm not even sure I want to believe that tall tale he made about my 'real' Father…"

"…let's play some devil's advocate then," Kyoji mused, as Ash rose his brow. "Let's say, on one hand… he _was _lying. What would he gain from lying to you in the first place? If anything, you'd think him saying that he was your dad would help him in some psychological way - find a way to use that against you. On the other hand… let's say he was telling the truth - that he's _not _your father, and your mom is an ex-rocket… what would it mean if that were the case?"

"It doesn't make sense. Both times I've seen him, he's-"

"Twice?" Kyoji asked.

"Once in Unova. Long story. But I'll trust a Gible more then I trust Giovanni." Ash said, looking at Iris. "Where is that Gible?"

Iris then proudly produced a Pokeball, beaming. "He wanted me to catch him." she said happily.

That made Ash smile somewhat. "Iris' Gible said I smelled like Giovanni. And family do share some similar scents. My Gible was able to sniff out my Sinnoh Pokemon out of all of them in the region." he said, unwavering in his belief. "And I'll only believe otherwise when told by my mother."

"What if she confirms it?" Kyoji asked. "Again, what changes if he _did _tell you the truth?"

Ash seemed like he was thinking about it, but before he could answer - something pecked at the skylight, trying to move the window open. "What in the name of?"

Eventually, it was forced open, and down dropped… an owl.

"…awwww," Kyoji muttered, "He's cute… never seen that type of Pokemon before, but he's still cute…"

"Rowlet?" Ash asked as the owl looked at him, then did the usual owl thing of flipping his head one hundred and eighty degrees.

"Wait, he's one of yours?" Kyoji said before almost pouting. "He's so cute. I want one."

"Rowl!" '_Hi Ash! Sorry we took so long!_' he happily trilled.

"Pika." '_He can understand you,_' Pikachu deadpanned as Rowlet looked at him. "Chu." '_Freak out and I zap you: we've had this song and dance WAY too often._'

"Rowl?" '_You're crankier than usual,_' Rowlet said, somewhat confused as to why.

"Pika." '_I haven't slept in nearly three days: too worried about Ash,_' Pikachu said, blinking his tired eyes before realizing something. "Pi?' '_Wait a minute… if YOU'RE here… and Fletchling said you were with the other Kalos-_'

"ASH!" cried a voice more familiar to Ash then ever as a honey-blonde girl wearing a pink dress rushed in, shoving Kyoji aside and jumping towards him.

'_Out of all the people I wanted to see today, she is not one of them,_' Ash thought, seeing the VERY happy Serena latch onto him, laying on top of him and not wanting to stop snuggling. It was a VERY good thing Ash had control of his lesser urges, otherwise something embarrassing would be happening.

"…Ow!" Kyoji groaned, as he stood back up. "Who are…?" He glanced up to the sight of Serena cuddling Ash. "…and another one joins the harem…"

Iris looked at Kyoji. "…Harem?" she asked, confused before realizing it. "I JUST MET HIM!"

"I was more talking about the others," Kyoji clarified, and Iris went 'aaahhhh'.

"Lady, if you knew Ash, you're going to have the same problem Misty has," Kyoji said, referring, of course, to Misty's 'other self'. Of course, no one explained WHY, just that it happened over time.

Serena then looked at the other two, emotionlessly staring at Kyoji before directing her hostile gaze at Iris.

"Ash, me amour…" she asked in Kalosian. "Who is this?" Ash had to think fast, given that Serena was now CRAZY, seemingly. Another thing he could blame himself for.

"Serena, I think I know what you're thinking and she is not my girlfriend!" Ash said in the same language, which he learned back in the old timeline. "I don't-"

"Think you're worthy?" Serena asked, rage disappearing in a flash, replaced with gentle empathy. "My dear Ash… You never thought you were worthy of womanly affection. But don't you worry." she then hugged him, snuggling her head between his neck and shoulder. "I will show you you are worthy."

Iris just blinked in confusion. "Does… anyone speak Kalosian?" she asked, Ash realizing he just swapped without thinking.

"...and like that, we've got Yuno-fucking-Gasai…" Kyoji muttered, as Iris looked at him in confusion.

"Who?"

"Character from a show back home - crazy psycho girlfriend." He explained, "Just… we're gonna have to keep her away from axes and knives…"

The door then banged open, Kyoji getting jumped on as a flame-colored Pokemon jumped onto the bed, using him as a springboard. "What is with every… thing…" he said before seeing what it was.

An eeveelution. The adorably fiery Flareon, a rare sight anywhere and sure as hell not one that was wild.

"Aw…" he started before the Flareon looked at him. And he knew that stare.

"…The Eevee from the lab?" he asked. "Where'd he find the fire-" WHACK!

"Flare!" '_I'm a girl, damn it!_' cried the Eeveelution as she glowed… and reverted back to being an Eevee without even noticing.

Ash sighed before summing up everything in Rotan. "Fuck my life."

* * *

Outside, Misty was fighting with Garchomp, trying to keep him from rushing into the building.

To be blunt, the Joy didn't want Garchomp in there. They had a reputation and he refused to go back in his ball.

"Chomp!" said the Mach Pokemon as he argued with Misty.

"No, Garchomp! I can't understand you: that's Ash's thing!" Misty said as she latched onto the dragon's neck. "They won't let you in outside of your ball! They think you're dangerous!"

Garchomp glared at her for that. "Well, you know it's true!" she snapped back. "I'D rather be in there right now, talking with Ash and not fighting YOU!"

"_Maybe wearing one of Nurse Joy's spare uniforms_?" her past self said suggestively.

"And YOU, stop being a pervert!" she snapped vocaly.

"_Between Ash being the ultimate gentleman and refusing to look below the chin and a lifetime of being pent up, _one _of us has to be_." the mental clone replied. …Well, she couldn't argue with that.

"Noi." cried a fuzzy batlike Pokemon as he landed on Garchomp's head. "Noi-Noibat!"

"Chomp?" questioned Garchomp before eyesmiling like a Gible. "Garchomp!" He threw his head back, making the bat panic.

CHOMP!

Misty just stared as Garchomp practically ATE Noibat. Then he realized it and spat him out. The bat was pissed.

"Froak." said something before Misty looked up, seeing a frog on her head.

"…I take it you guys are from Kalos?" she asked, getting a nod from the light-blue frog. "That explains the screaming in Kalosian I heard earlier."

Anabel, laying on the ground, groaned at the reminder. "Her mind… it BURNS…"

Misty decided not to pry. "He's inside. Just don't piss off the locals. They're touchy at the moment." she said, the frog jumping off her head and guiding the bat and another group of Pokemon inside.

"How many does he have?" she asked herself.

"About 50…" Anabel moaned.

"What the hell happened to you?" Misty asked, actually worried this time. Anabel passively read minds all the time: this was new.

"So many voices… too many…" she said, holding her head.

* * *

Ash stared at the Eevee. "So… what are you doing here?" he asked. "I broke you out so you could live freely, not for personal gain."

Serena all but swooned at that, making Ash feel VERY creeped out.

"And why does he keep kicking me?!" Koyji asked, a paw print very prominent on his face.

"She's a girl." Ash deadpanned, making Kyoji facepalm.

"WHY do they all not have gender differences…" he groaned. "And you STILL need to-"

"Talk to Natu. Get her to plant a Pokemon's mind in your head. It's what happened to me," Ash said, wanting to put a stop to this. "The only other ways are telepathy and Aura and I have no idea how to use Aura intentionally."

"…Ruin my fun." Kyoji said, pouting.

"Vui." '_He is weird,_' she said. "Eveui." '_As for why… I was born in a human facility. I've never BEEN outside until you freed me._' She sat down, Serena keeping an eye on her like she was a threat.

Ash hated this timeline more every day.

"Vui." '_And then came you. The trainer that broke my expectations of all trainers. I thought you'd ball me and be done with it. But instead… you let me go. But I can't go into the wild. I don't know what to do._'

"Make me hate Team Rocket MORE, why don't you." Ash deadpanned before petting the Eevee, scratching behind her ears and making her almost purr. This had an effect as she glowed and evolved, turning into the ribbony, pink Sylveon.

"Eon…" '_That feels goood…_' she moaned.

"…aww, _she's _adorable…" Kyoji mused, being certain to _emphasize _the correct gender.

"But not right." Serena said, almost exactly as Ash remembered. "Eevee aren't supposed to do that. They evolve to one stage and… don't revert."

Ash tried to get up, but Serena refused to budge. And while Ash could very easily throw her off him, he didn't want to make her cry. He might have wanted her together with someone else, even if that wasn't happening anymore due to this engagement, but he would NOT stoop so low as to make her cry.

"Serena, could you… please get off?" he asked gently.

"You need to stay in bed," Serena said, now sounding like his mother when he got sick.

"My legs fell asleep and I would REALLY like to sit up," Ash said, both of those being true. Serena was on top of his legs and he had lost feeling in his feet.

"Oh!" the girl said, getting off him, then helping him sit up. Sylveon reverted back to an Eevee as Ash was no longer petting him.

Then she was pounced on by a teal frog, who held her hostage.

"Froak." '_Identify yourself, Evolution Pokemon,_' said the frog, rather testily. Ash sighed as he looked at his Kalos team's starter powerhouse. His hand was probably hurting as much as Ash's was.

"Froakie." Ash said softly but sternly. "She's a friend. Let her go." Froakie hesitated before Eevee glowed again, then shocked the frog away with a mild thunderbolt.

The glow died down, revealing an annoyed Jolteon, who snarled at him.

"Jolteon, he's a member of my team!" Ash said before the Eeveelution could try and kill Froakie, glancing back at Ash curiously and furiously. Unfazed, Ash sighed. "It's a long story."

Kyoji just looked at the little frog. "…Ninja frog." he said. "I didn't even see him come in!"

As per usual, a Pokemon did him harm.

* * *

**Off the shore of Cinnabar Island - 1024 hours local time**

* * *

Celebi hated her job sometimes. In the old timeline, it was easy: keep idiots from screwing up the timeline. Cyrus was a major oversight. Besides, Giratina said they would handle it.

The older legendaries were so weird. They swapped their gender like a human would a shirt. Mew was the most guilty and the Creation Trio were the worst of the lot.

Regardless, Giratina said he-she-IT would handle Cyrus and they considered it case closed. Three years later, timeline ended and the rest was history. Or chapters, as the case may be. (WHACK!)

Now, she had to deal with other things not involved with time, like wormholes randomly opening for no reason. Or simply because the Solar Idiots in Alola were doing it for shits and giggles. More the latter then the former, sadly.

But Celebi had a job to do. So she would do it.

"Poi!" '_Hello!_' cried something above her, sounding a mix between male and female. Celebi looked up to see a purple being that could, cautiously, be described as a purple child with an oddly shaped head flew above her, waving.

Celebi groaned. Great. A Poipole. Solgaleo and Lunala MUST have wanted to see how far they could push her. Usually, they just dumped a random, more common, Ultra Beast somewhere and Celebi had to teleport it to Alola for them to deal with.

Poipole were… less simple to deal with. Especially one that had a mild temporal aura like this one. That meant it belonged.

"Celebi." '_Fuck my life,_' she muttered before sighing, putting on the most fairy-esque face she could imagine and flew up to the alien Pokemon. "Bi." '_Hello, young one. I'm Celebi._'

Poipole laughed. "Pole!" '_I'm Poipole! Can you tell me where I am? I'm… lost,_' it said, trailing off. "Poi." '_the big steel lion said I was supposed to be here, to meet my new family. But there's no one here!_'

'_Note to self: forcibly age Solgaleo until he _**rusts**.' Celebi thought murderously.

The Lunar Duo of Alola were as in tune with the effects of the timeline as she was. Of COURSE those two would make something happen. They couldn't go through time as willingly as she did, but that changed nothing.

…Did this mean Ash could've caught this Poipole in the other timeline?

WHY did the Chosen One have to be a pain in the ass?

Celebi sighed before looking at the Poison Pin Pokemon. "Cele." '_Follow me. I think I know where you have to go,_' she said.

Poipole cheered happily. Celebi wanted to get a drink. That heavy ale made in the south of Galar sounded like a good idea.

* * *

**Oak Ranch - 1034 hours local time**

* * *

"The ball does not lie." Professor Oak said as he looked at the readings, even as the freely released Eevee glared at him hard enough that Snorunt had to use ice beam on her and drag her off to meet the rest of Ash's Pokemon. "Team Rocket's scientists altered this poor thing's genetic structure to make it unable to evolve to one of the successor stages for any longer than a day."

On the vid phone, Ash grimaced along with Serena, the Kalosian having arrived earlier that day and refused to leave Ash's side. Or let go of his hand.

'_Yanderes,_' Oak thought to himself before sighing. "While this would be a boon for you in battle, I don't think Eevee should be in combat. Ever." he said. "The fact she can't maintain an evolution-"

"_That's not my choice or yours, Professor,_" Ash said, cutting him off. "_That's Eevee's choice alone._"

Of course his prized pupil would bring that up. "Speaking of lack of choices, your Pokemon have started training with my Dragonite." he said before aforementioned Dragonite returned for more. The noise complaints would be _overwhelming_ in the coming weeks before the Conference. "Your Snorunt is on the cusp of evolving and-" BOOM! "I suspect half of your Pokemon will be joining him." he finished drily as his second Pokemon, a gift from a friend, fought Ash's team.

He hadn't seen the dragon so active in years.

"Anyway, I will be sending her back to you soon. With a gift." Oak then produced a piece of jewelry, which was shaped like part of a Gible's fin, with a clip where the universal notch would be, with a spring in the front position.

"_Ok_," Ash said, blinking. "_What is it_?"

"A solution to your Garchomp's depression. This has a piece of eviolite in it." Oak said proudly. "Just slip it onto his fin and… well. You'll see the results."

A black haired man snorted on the other side. "_What's evolite going to do for a _Garchomp?" he said, crossing his arms.

"You will find out soon, mister…?" Oak trailed off, waiting for a name.

"_Kyoji Akamura_," he answered.

"Akamura, then."

A block of ice was thrown into the lab and shattered, the genetically engineered Eevee having turned into a Glaceon in the damn thing before she glared at the old man.

"I'm going to send you back to Ash," he said, the Eeveelution gathering ice energy before being returned to her ball. She was going to be mad.

Regardless, he placed the ball and the clip into the transfer machine, the clip being turned to energy and sucked into the ball as a hold item before being transferred back.

"Now, if you excuse me, I have to avoid another-" Oak said as he looked outside, seeing Ash's Swaddle on Dragonite's back, hitting him with mostly ineffective Energy Ball. "Oh, hell."

This would end poorly.

* * *

**Cinnabar Island - same time**

* * *

Glaceon popped out of her ball, pissed off. But Ash kneeled down and rubbed her head with his injured hand, the Eeveelution purring at his touch as he removed the clip that was frozen to her back.

"I am really jealous of you," Kyoji said as he watched Ash just pet the Fresh Snow Pokemon. "One touch and they become puddy in your hands."

"Years of handling Pokemon." Ash said before opening Garchomp's ball, unleashing the dragon-type, much to the terror of all in the Pokemon Center.

"Chomp!" '_Ash! You're awake!_' he said, smiling.

"And I have something for you," Ash said, holding the clip. "Mind if I put it on?"

Garchomp blinked. "Chomp?" '_It's so small. It won't fit_.' he said looking at it before Ash started climbing, his right hand aching as he did.

"Ash! You have to rest your hand or-" Serena started before Kyoji looked at her and tapped her shoulder.

"Lady, _please_ speak Kantonian," he asked before Serena snarled at him for merely touching her. "Sheesh! Freaking yandere."

Ash ignored the pain and slid the clip onto Garchomp's fin before jumping down, Serena rushing over to him and fussing over his hand. "Uh… Serena?" Ash asked nervously. "I'm ok."

"Yandere…" Kyoji repeated before Garchomp glowed, then began...shrinking. "Buh?!"

The shrinking lasted a mere moment before he was the size and shape of a Gible, the glowing stopping before revealing…

"Gible?" '_Huh_?' said the reverted land shark, making Kyoji and his own land shark stare at him, then look at each other, then at the Garchomp-in-a-Gible's body.

"Gib-chomp.' Kyoji said, coining this event as such as the aforementioned Pokemon looked at himself.

"Gible? GIBLE!" '_I'm a Gible? I'M A GIBLE_!' he cried before looking at Ash's head and jumping into the air.

CHOMP!

Kyoji just stared at the land shark on Ash's head, unable to process this.

"Once again, my dad does something impossible." the Ranseian looked at the entrance to the Pokemon Center, Ash looking with him to see someone he wasn't expecting.

"Hey, dad," said Sabrina as she entered the building, smiling. "I heard you were hurt and thought I'd help you recover."

* * *

Kyoji was used to a lot of things in life. Ash Ketchum was a strange experience, but… he liked excitement.

However… seeing this woman… this utterly _stunning _woman walk in, looking close to his and Ash's age come in, wearing brightly colored clothes and dark hair… and then calling Ash 'Dad' made him do a triple-take at what he was witnessing.

'_Dad?_' He thought before he paused, '_Wait… didn't Ash say he kinda-sorta brainwashed that psychic woman Sabrina that was…_' it clicked in his head as his eyes widened. '_OH SHIT PSYCHIC!_' As if on reflex, he began thinking and focusing on something - anything to keep his mind off of her. He _knew _his mind, and the last thing he'd want to do is offend the deadly but sexy psychic woman that could probably snap his head off with a thought. '_Thinkthinkthink, uh, uhhhh… NEVER GONNA GIVE-YOU-UP! NEVER GONNA LET-YOU-DOWN! NEVER GONNA RUN AROUND AND, DESERT YOU!_'

Sabrina drily raised an eyebrow, making an amused smirk. "Really? That song was old when that psychotic bitch was young." she said. "And believe me, I've had to hold off on the urge to snap the neck of anyone that stares at my chest longer than necessary."

Kyoji just closed his eyes - he wasn't trusting _himself _right now. Like hell he was gonna try and guess how long 'longer than necessary' is in her definition. '_Something else, something else!... Ba-by land shark Dodo dodo dodo, Ba-by land shark Dodo dodo dodo, Ba-by land shark dodo dodo dodo…_'

"Speaking of land sharks…" Sabrina said before kneeling and looking at Kyoji's land shark. "I've never seen a _yellow _Gible."

"Gible!" happily cried the Pac-Gible, making Sabrina giggle.

"Yes, your trainer Is being overly cautious." she said before petting the Gible, making him warble. "You can open your eyes, Mr. Akamura: I'm not going to hurt you if your eyes stray."

…How the hell-

"I'm a psychic: I had my Kadabra translate what he said." she said, answering his half-formed question before picking up the Gible. "Seriously, though: why is he yellow? All Gibles I've seen in the outskirts of Vermillion are purple with red bellies."

Kyoji _very cautiously _opened his eyes, and did everything in his power to lock his gaze only on her eyes. '_Whatever you fucking do, don't look down._' He thought. "He's… yellow because we're from a… different part of the world." He said. He had to word it as best he could without sounding suspicious - the last thing he'd want is for her to find out about his mission and where he's _actually _from… among a lot of other things he'd rather a pretty lady-person like her to go poking in his-

'_EYES FORWARD!_' He mentally berated himself as his his mind and gaze began to wander, refocusing on her eyes again… '_...focus on the eyes, the beautiful eyes… are they pink? That's actually really cool… FOCUS!_'

"I'm flattered. Usually everyone's too scared of me to say anything about my eyes." Sabrina said before putting Gible down, making him 'Gib!' happily. "Besides, Dad's an open book when he wants to be: he told me while you were panicking in the most adorable way possible."

Kyoji looked at Ash, betrayed. "You're going to be spending time around her, anyways." Ash said, shrugging, the Kalosian girl giving the older psychic a death glare before Ash said something to her in Kalosian.

"He's right: I'm on vacation and want to visit my dad." Sabrina said, making Serena let go of Ash's hand and look her in the eye.

Kyoji felt a bit… _worried _at the glare the Kalosian Yandere was giving Sabrina… while he knew that if Sabrina was as strong as Ash hinted at, she could probably take her… he's known its a _bad _idea to underestimate what a Yandere can do when they put their minds to something. He subtly moved a bit ahead of her, ready to jump in if things… _escalate_.

After a moment, Serena backed down, Sabrina being completely unfazed as she walked back over and grabbed Ash's hand. "Stay as you are, step-daughter." she said in Kantoan.

"I have no intention of being anything but Ash's daughter. Well, that and Saffron Gym Leader once the next league season opens up again." the greenette said before looking at Kyoji again. "So… Ransei?" she asked in the language in question.

Kyoji physically jumped when she started speaking Ranseian "H-how did you do that?!" He spoke in the same language, "We've barely been in the same room for more than two minutes!"

"I'm a telepath: this is kinda what we do." Sabrina replied. "And it's half the reason Anabel started travelling with Ash: to learn how to be… well… more than just the next host for some psionic parasite."

"And the other half?" he asked drily.

"You don't want to look into his head. Apparently, I tried and ended up like this." Sabrina replied with a smile. "I mean, took me a while to relearn a few things, but hey."

"WHERE'D HE GO?!" suddenly cried Serena before the pair turned to find Ash just gone. Sabrina sighed, holding her nose.

"Celebi," she said wearily.

* * *

Outside and behind the Pokemon Center, Ash glared at the time traveling Pokemon. "You could have waited." he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Serena's pretty clingy, but I could've convinced her to let me go for a bit."

"Celebi." '_Trust me, with her mind as it is, the only thing you could convince her of is to let you go to the bathroom for three minutes,_' Celebi answered, Ash not wanting to know. "Bi." '_She was bipolar back in the old timeline but she had meds for that: throw in some psychic being an idiot and you got this timeline's Serena._'

"You have _got _to be kidding me." Ash deadpanned.

"Bi." '_It was an accident. Don't worry, it can be fixed, it'll just require, oh, the Lord of the Dead to do it._'

"Anyway…" Ash said, to get back on topic before something slammed into him, nabbing Pikachu.

"Pole!" '_Fuzzy friend!_' cried a… whatever it was as it rubbed Pikachu's cheek, making the starter chuckle nervously as it floated above them.

Ash just stared blankly. "Bi." '_Poipole, the Poison Pin Ultra Beast_.' Celebi explained. '_The Solar Duo of Alola don't have the ability to see the timeline as clearly as I do, but they know when something is supposed to be somewhere else._'

Ash looked at Celebi when she said this. "You're telling me-" "Bi." '_Apparently, you caught this thing. Or were supposed to. Cyrus and all that._'

The child giggled as it played with Pikachu, flying around in the alley. Ash then drew a new Pokeball from his belt.

"Who am I to argue with destiny?" he said in jest.

"…Celebi." '_Ash, that is _literally _your JOB. You turn a situation that's supposed to be the end of the world and turn it into a fighting chance to live._' Celebi said, facepalming before going over to the pair, Pikachu looking like he was going to get sick.

"What's his type?" Ash asked, worried for his starter's health if he was turning color like that.

"Bi." '_Poison._' Celebi answered. That made up Ash's mind.

"Nope." Ash said before tossing the ball at Poipole, turning it into energy, the ball shaking violently, making Ash think he was going to need a few balls. And a talk about accidentally poisoning people.

* * *

**15 minutes later**

* * *

Five balls and an explanation as to why Poipole had to go into the ball AND why Pikachu looked so sick after a few minutes later, Ash had a unique Pokemon in his possession.

He would have to explain that to Professor Oak.

Before he got the chance to even get to the doors, he was bowled over by Serena, who knocked him to the ground.

"Enjoying being with your new wife?" asked Kyoji with a sly grin as he exited the Pokemon Center.

"Just because I'm being forced to marry her doesn't mean I'm not going to find a better option." Ash said in Ranseian, making Kyoji recoil before he facepalmed.

"Didn't we talk about this?" the shinobi asked, Ash sighing.

"Later." he said before Serena looked at his right hand, grabbing it.

"Your hand! It… looks normal now." she said, finding a lack of patchy skin on it. Ash blinked. Then he attributed it to Celebi and her time abilities.

"Huh. Guess I heal faster then I thought." he said, Kyoji giving him a light glare. "Serena, mind getting off? I need to get my Pokemon for my gym battle with Blaine."

At least he wouldn't have to hunt for a key or look for Blaine's gym.

"It can wait until tomorrow," Serena said before glaring at the Pokemon Center, or rather who was in it, as Ash saw Misty, Anabel and Iris trying to get out of Serena's line of sight.

"May the harem building begin," Kyoji said cheekily. Ash wanted to sic Poipole on him, even if that was a bad influence on him.

* * *

**Outside the Cinnabar Gym - 1059 hours local time - Day 77**

* * *

Ash was not a happy camper. Serena was uncomfortably close (for Ash: she was actually keeping back just a bit) while the other girls were forced to his left.

Serena had shown them her crossbow and they wanted nothing to do with it.

"I have never seen anyone so resistant to pretty girls before." Kyoji said from the back of the group to Sabrina, who was holding his Gible and making him a happy land shark. "Anyone back home, they'd see who was the most compatible with. Ash? Nope: he wants nothing to do with it."

"It's self-punishment." Sabrina said, Gible looking up at her curiously. "He could have stopped Cyrus a long time ago, but didn't. That and not wanting to be like his father, obviously." Kyoji gave her a curious look. The gym leader blushed and looked away. "I can read surface thoughts. Looking too deep, THAT is a bad idea."

'_Arceus she's cute…_' he thought, but quickly shifted his thought. "…well, he did tell us how he met with Giovanni, but according to him he was saying that he wasn't his father - that he was in fact his uncle."

"Uncle?" She glanced back at him.

"Yeah, on his mom's side." Kyoji elaborated, "Said something about how they both started Team Rocket, but her mom left to have a family or something… and it sounded like, according to him, his real father was a nice guy."

"And he probably thinks he's a liar," Sabrina nodded.

"Pretty much," Kyoji sighed, "Normally I'd agree with him, but… in this situation, I can't see what Geovanni would get by lying about that… If anything, he'd get more mileage claiming he was his father and use that as some form of leverage… but from Ash's story, Geovanni's been doing everything in his power to keep Ash safe so his mom doesn't come after him… and when you think about it, if that _were _a lie, it'd be a terrible one since that would make him seem weak."

"How so?" The psychic tilted her head.

"Well… I'm not sure how the criminal networks here work," Kyoji mused, "But back home, the Yakuza - our equivalent to Team Rocket - would never admit that their organization could be cut down by a single individual - be they a man or a woman. It would be a sign of weakness, and other competitors would use that against them in dealings… it'd be illogical to make such a lie if you want to maintain your own image in the criminal underworld."

"Well, Delia Ketchum IS a very scary lady." Sabrina said. "Former Elite Four. And… well, Giovanni is her brother, but-"

"Good, we can just tell him." Kyoji said before Sabrina grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. "What gives?!"

"He wouldn't believe you. He wouldn't believe ANYONE except his mother. And she's…" Sabrina waved her hand around. "Out of retirement. Apparently, when dad got shot, she went on the war path and hasn't been seen since. That was over a month ago."

"…That's just dumb. We can tell him the truth. You know the old saying." Kyoji said before Sabrina fixed him with a stare.

"He is suffering from so many issues that his psychiatrist is surprised he's able to tie his own shoes, let alone think in a Pokemon battle." Sabrina said. "I'm not going to make things worse. Besides, if Delia is involved, she'll go to Viridian Gym. That's where Giovanni is most of the time. She'll hammer it into his head."

Kyoji still thought it was stupid, but decided to listen to the pretty lady.

Sabrina blushed at that before giggling, making him confused… then he remembered she was a telepath. Why must he be flustered around cute girls?

* * *

"Pikachu?" '_So, are you going to improvise like last time?_' Pikachu asked his trainer. Ash closed his eyes, thinking about it.

Gible, or Garchomp, was chomping at the bit to fight in a gym battle again, Sliggoo wanted to fight as well, to get ready for his evolution to Goodra.

Charizard was a must: denying him this was stupid at the best of times, suicidal at the worst. It was a good thing he was in his new Pokeball.

Squirtle, for training. He might not want to evolve, but it was not a bad idea. Lapras as well.

Froakie was nowhere near ready for Blaine. None of the newly-recaught Pokemon were, even if Froakie objected.

"Ready to conquer this old timer, me amour?" Serena asked, a sickly-sweet tone to her voice with a fair hint of bloodlust. Ash REALLY did not like it.

"I'm not so sure about conquer. I'll do my best-" Ash said before Serena suddenly hugged him, cooing happily.

"Your _fiance-_" Misty said, spitting out the word. "Is INSANE." Anabel agreed, even as her Natu tried to filter out her fractured personalities. Apparently, they all argued over everything except him. Well, not true. They all wanted him, they just wanted different THINGS from him that Ash did not want to even consider.

"Uh… can you let go of me?" he asked. Serena looked into his eyes with… a strange mix of puppy-dog eyes and lust. It was WEIRD.

"Beat him. I'll be waiting for you~" she said before letting him go and stepping back, with everyone else doing the same thing towards her. Ash sighed. Well, he was stuck with the insane Serena. Maybe he would get lucky and she'd off him after he dealt with Cyrus.

With that pleasant thought, he knocked on the door, which automatically opened to allow them entry.

"We'll wait in the observation room," Kyoji said, Serena glaring at him for suggesting being seperated from Ash again after being back with him only a short time, but her more reasonable side prevailed and she relented.

* * *

**Inside Cinnabar Gym - 1134 hours local time**

* * *

It was hot, dark and most of all _humid _inside the battle area.

Ash had to navigate a small maze to get to the place, the only way through being answering riddles. And while Ash was not an idiot, he wasn't good at riddles unless they were Pokemon-based.

It took 15 minutes to get past the first one, but the rest were mostly puns based on Pokemon with the last riddle being a poem about Moltres, where he had to guess the bird Pokemon. It was actually hard, given how many flaming birds he'd run into.

But he was here, now.

"Riddle me this!" cried a voice in the darkness. "Coals are my food, for I cannot start fire without them! I am small, but grow to be mighty with stick and flame! What am I?"

Ash thought about this one for a second, even if he could ruin Blaine's fun. But he wasn't a member of Team Rocket or just one of the general villains of the day. He was a gym leader.

Ash looked at the closed off observation deck, covered in reflective glass. THERE was the answer.

"Fennekin." Ash said, remembering Serena's starter couldn't start a fire on her own.

The lights kicked in, revealing Blaine, not in his suit from a few days ago, but a VERY tacky pair of shorts and an Alolan shirt. "Well done! You know your Pokemon, at least." he said, smiling as he leaned on his cane. "But I shouldn't be surprised: you ARE Delia's brat after all."

"What does my mother have to do with this?" Ash asked, getting tired of everyone seemingly knowing his mom. First Brock, then Surge, now Blaine? Who WAS she in this timeline?

"Well, I'll make you a deal: beat me, you get the answer. But I will make this hellishly hot, son!" Blaine said before steam rose from the sides of the arena, making him jump. "Well, I guess the volcano's making a comment on the matter. Good thing we have an evacuation plan in case it blows."

Ash had no comment on that. "So… six on six?" he asked. Blaine laughed at that, as if it was a joke. "I'm being serious!"

Blaine stopped laughing, coughing somewhat to stop himself. "Sonny, I'm one of the oldest and most powerful Gym Leaders in Kanto! Hell, in Kanto AND Johto! And you know how I did that?" he asked. Ash shrugged. "Sticking to a smaller team! I mean, I regretted releasing some of my Pokemon early on, but I gained the most powerful three-mon team in the URN in the doing! I mean, you DID read the sign on the gym doors, right?"

Ash barely noticed a sign on the door, which was actually waterlogged from all the humidity. "…Kinda?" he said, shrugging.

"I need to invest in a metal sign." Blaine said facepalming before getting back to it. "Alright! Three vs your six! I hope you stocked up on burn heals, son!" Blaine then drew a Pokeball, the red and white worn to the steel base before throwing it. "Go, Arcanine!"

The ball popped open, releasing the Legendary Pokemon, called so for the fact that its' loyalty was beyond reproach, who then howled. Ash could see the power in this dog's frame. He needed the right one. He reached for a ball on his right belt, then tossed it. "Go, Gible!" he cried, releasing the land shark, who dove into the ground, popping up his fin before surfacing. "Gible!" '_Ret-to-go!_' he cried happily.

Blaine sighed. "I admit. In the cuteness department, your Gible beats my Arcanine." he said, the dog looking back at him before shrugging, as Arcanine were not exactly cuddly. "But a first-stage Pokemon, dragon or not-"

Gible then threw off the evolite clip and started glowing. "Well, shit, someone figured out the evolite trick." Blaine deadpanned as Gible became Garchomp. But that only made him grin. "That just makes it more interesting! Fire Blast!" Arcanine took in a deep breath, igniting the air in his throat.

"Dragon Pulse!" Ash commanded, Garchomp inhaling and spitting out dragonic energy just as Arcanine released the attack.

* * *

Kyoji knew little about Blaine, but he wasn't just some riddle-happy old man. He was WAY too spry.

But his current concern was getting Ash to stop being an idiot. And maybe, just maybe, heal his wounds. But there was no magic song to do that. The ladies in his life would ease his pain. Especially given that Rota legalized polygamy thanks to most of their noble houses getting reduced to three or less in the Cipher War. The royal house was allowed as many as were practical, if they ever found a living heir.

The problem was… Serena would kill the three girls here if Ash didn't stop her. Sabrina was barely keeping her from trying. And while Iris wasn't exactly the tsundere from the other timeline - at least according to Ash - he could try and get them together, even if her and Misty somewhat butted heads on occasion.

But to do that… he needed help. He wasn't getting it from Ash and his Pokemon...Pikachu didn't give a shit who as long as there _was _a who and the ones from the regions the girls came from fought like rabid fanboys for 'their ship'.

'_The biggest obstacle is getting Serena to stand down…_' He thought to himself, '_If we can at least get her to accept the other girls, we could make this work… I guess if they all came to some mutual agreement that Serena gets first dibs maybe?_' He sighed as he shook his head. "Matchmaking is hard…"

"Indeed it is." Sabrina said. "Serena needs to have something stable in her life. Right now, she's getting used to Ash being around full-time. Once her excitement dies down, it should be.. .easier to reason with her." The gym leader crossed her arms under her bust, which only made them better to get a look at. "The bad part about that is it will take weeks, if not months." Kyoji nodded, trying not to look at her. But he did.

"Stop staring at my chest," she said coldly, making him snap his head forward before she giggled. "Relax. To be honest, I'm not even sure how to start a relationship. I mean… dad is dad and all, but… I don't think I'm ready for a romantic relationship just yet. I have to help my dad with his."

'_Considering you were a crazy lady last month, apparently, we have our work cut out for us._' he thought.

"Yes, we do." Sabrina replied.

"Would you stop that!" Kyoji hissed, covering his head.

"I'm a telepath, so… no." she said, smiling like a schoolgirl. "It could be worse. I could be like Anabel over there."

Anabel was sitting in front of a garbage can, all thanks to Serena's… crazy.

'_We need to deal with that, but the only one that can handle split personalities like that are Pokemon from the Distortion Realm. Giratina, Darkrai, Unown…_' Kyoji looked at Sabrina. Her mouth wasn't moving.

Great, she was starting to beam her thoughts into his brain. Next thing he'd know, he'd be signing up to take over the world for psychic supremacy.

'_Not worth it: too much work to keep the mundanes in line._' Sabrina 'pathed into his head with a smile.

'_I need tinfoil._' he thought morosely.

'_That doesn't work on psychics. Believe me, it's been tried._' she replied.

Kyoji sobbed, Gible deciding to try and make him feel better with a nice chomp.

'..._Would Gible_-'

'_He's not a dark-type_.' Sabrina said, making him more depressed.

* * *

While Garchomp was far younger than Arcanine, he was, perhaps fittingly, the one with more potential.

Garchomp, Goodra and the like did not have the title of 'pseudo-legendary' for simple rarity. It was commonplace for their fully-evolved forms, after a certain amount of time, to seek out the godlike beings of their world to test themselves. Arcanine would need his trainer's instruction and his own instincts to defeat Garchomp.

But, Blaine noted, while he was good, he was also old and slowing, that boon from Moltres or not. Ash Ketchum, on the other hand...Pokemon combat was in his blood. His mother was his student at one point, his father was known to wipe out trainers with ease and Ash seemed to have inherited all that skill.

And he was only two months into his career. Kanto was the smallest of the provinces of the former URN, so something like this wasn't that uncommon, but still.

The explosion of regular and dragonic fire forced Blaine out of his introspections. Now was not the time.

"Take him down!" he commanded, Arcanine rushing into the smoke as normal-type energy surrounded him like a cloak, preparing to use Takedown on the Mach Pokemon.

"Take to the air and use Draco Meteor, shotgun style!" Ash countered, the Mach Pokemon's horns blowing out superheated air to allow him to take flight, his maw generating the orb of dragon-type energy in his maw.

"Play Rough!" Blaine commanded, knowing the fairy-type attack would shield Arcanine from the worst of it, even if it didn't hurt the dragon currently out of his reach.

Garchomp spat out the dragon bomb, which turned into a wide spread of bomblets, exploding around Arcanine, making him somewhat dazed.

"Bulldoze!" ordered Ash as the Garchomp dove on Arcanine, Blaine hastily thinking of a move that would save the round. It wasn't the type energy that was going to hurt. After all, it wasn't the bullet itself that kills you: it's if the bullet is going fast enough. And Garchomp, at a dive, could quickly go to mach 1 in seconds.

"Quickly, use Extreme Speed!" Blaine ordered, Arcanine trying to jump, but Garchomp dove in, slamming into Arcanine fast enough that he was going to feel it for a while after this.

"Chomp!" said the air shark VERY happily before tossing Arcanine in the air, then zooming upwards, his maw open like a shark ambushing a seal.

'_Well, it could be worse,_' Blaine thought to himself as Garchomp used Bite on Arcanine hard enough to break some of his ribs. '_He could be a Shadow Pokemon._'

* * *

"Pikachu." '_THAT was a bit extreme,_' Pikachu said, Ash nodding as Garchomp backflipped, landing on his feet.

"Chomp-Chomp!" '_That was awesome! And kinda tiring. I don't think I can do that again,_' Garchomp said, sounding dizzy. Garchomp had been training while he was bedridden, but it was mostly him flying around, conditioning his new body, not learning anything new. And it wasn't enough: his stamina was almost the same and he had to rely on Ash's surreal ability to read a fight and unconventional tactics to win.

It helped that Ash had learned to let them act on their own accord in regards to dodging and attacking, only giving commands when he saw something they didn't.

"I think that's enough, Arcanine." Blaine said before returning Arcanine. "If that keeps up, your Garchomp is likely to kill him."

"Chomp!" '_No I won't!_' Garchomp objected. He wouldn't kill anything not hurting Ash!

"Think you can fight, Garchomp?" Ash asked, not touching that subject.

The young Garchomp shook his head. He may have wanted to fight, but that Arcanine drained him. He would have to work on that. Ash gladly returned him, letting Garchomp rest.

"Well, you certainly don't disappoint!" Blaine said before withdrawing a new Pokeball. "But you haven't won yet!" he opened the ball, releasing a snail seemingly made of lava, which spat it out onto the ground.

"Ma." '_Great. The Ketchum boy. I haven't seen him in years,_' the snail, which sounded female, said, glancing back at her trainer.

"Well, Magcargo, you got your wish." Blaine said, grinning. "Show him what you got!"

Ash would figure out that later. "Go, Sliggoo!" he said, tossing out Sliggoo's Pokeball and unleashing the middle-stage snail dragon.

"Goo!" '_Battle time!_' he said, scanning the arena. "Sliggoo?" '_This place is hot as hell._'

"Another pseudo-legendary?" Blaine deadpanned.

"He wants to evolve. And yes, I know, he needs a rainstorm, but he needs to train first!" Ash said, cutting Blaine off before he could say anything about Goodra's need for rain.

"Most Goomy either go Goodra or they stay as Goomy. Rarely a middle ground," Blaine said, nodding. "I'm not making it easy, son. Magcargo! Incinerate!"

The lava snail took in a breath, spewing a wall of flame at the dragon-type.

"Rain Dance!" Ash commanded, not that he needed to as Sliggoo was doing it anyway. THAT was not something he wanted to get hit with, not at full power.

The rain clouds formed, water falling from them just as the fire wall hit, Sliggoo flinching from the hit.

"Good, but rain won't help you. I'm not letting you use healing items-" Blaine started before Sliggoo's burns faded away, faster then they were formed. "…Hydration. I _hate _Hydration. MAGCARGO! SUNNY DAY!"

"Keep using Rain Dance until it sticks!" Ash said, Blaine just staring at him in confusion as the 'weather duel' began, sun and cloud fighting for dominance. This had a side-effect.

It made wind. A lot of wind. A lot of WORRYING wind.

"Oh, hell." Blaine muttered as the struggle continued.

"Sliggoo, spit!" Ash commanded, Sliggoo looking back at him before getting it.

"Sli?" '_Oh, right!_'

"Spit? Wait-Magcargo-" Blaine started before Sliggoo spat out a stream of mucus, splattering on Magcargo. Normally, this wouldn't do anything, but as she was getting hit with water, which cooled her skin, it… burned.

"Car!" '_Gah, fuck!_' the snail cried as she closed her eyes to stop it from burning. That gave Ash an opening as the Rain Dance stuck.

"Dragon Pulse, then Ice Beam!" he said, Sliggoo breathing in, then blasting out dragonic energy, slamming into Magcargo and sending the snail back, knocking her onto her rocky shell.

"Well, that's unfair." Blaine said before Sliggoo Ice Beamed Magcargo. It hurt less, but that wasn't the problem.

The problem was Sliggoo's lopsided, evil grin before he gathered water energy into an orb.

"Magcargo, get up or-" Blaine demanded before Sliggoo shot off the rain-enhanced Water Pulse, slamming into the snail. Blaine was unwilling to let this go further, returning Magcargo. "That was dirty. Creative, but dirty."

"Use what you've got. I don't think I could beat you in a straight fight." Ash admitted. "And even if I could, Sliggoo would have been hurt too badly for my liking. Your Magcargo will heal a LOT faster then Sliggoo would."

Blaine cupped his chin as he thought about it. "Too true, sonny boy. Still not happy." he replied, before fans kicked in, sucking the clouds out of the gym.

Sliggoo was winded. Willing to fight, but Ash was not allowing him. All of his Pokemon could hit hard, but Sliggoo wasn't Goodra: he couldn't take those hits and keep going. Not yet.

Besides, Ash had a pretty good idea who was up next.

"You're good, Sliggoo. Take a rest." Ash said, returning the snail dragon to his Pokeball as Blaine tossed out a new Pokemon. One Ash knew all too well.

It was the only time Charizard ever obeyed him before that incident in the Orange Islands, as a bipedal Pokemon with a body colored like flame formed from the Pokeball.

He looked at Ash, huffing. "Mag." '_Give me something worthy of my time,_' said the Magmar.

…Ash didn't want to enjoy this. But he got a kick out of beating the shit out of arrogant pricks anyways due to his MANY years of dealing with Teams Rocket through Flare. And Magmar SCREAMED arrogance.

"I choose you, Charizard!" Ash declared before tossing out the new ball, releasing the Flame Pokemon onto the field, who roared and breathed out a very healthy burst of flame.

"HAR!" '_About damn time!_' Charizard said, beating his wings in anticipation.

Magmar only grinned. "Mar." '_I don't face too many of you. Prove you're worth my time!_' he declared before Blaine gave his command.

"Fire Spin!" the old man declared.

"Flamethrower!" Ash countered, Charizard belching flame at the same time as Magmar, the flaming tornado forming between them, making Ash and Pikachu sweat.

"Open the roof! DO IT NOW!" Blaine ordered as the ground under the epicenter of the two attacking Pokemon reached 500 degrees c. While no one had a thermometer to measure it, the fact the rock the arena floor was starting to _liquify _was enough of a sign that that thing NEEDED TO GO.

* * *

Kyoji saw the tornado of fiery death and promptly got everyone the hell out of there, knowing this would be… bad.

Serena resisted until her Pancham and Ash's Riolu (borrowed for just such an occasion) forced her to realize the error of her ways by knocking her out.

She got better once they left the building, with the roof moving to allow the tornado of doom to explode outwards.

"Charizards are scary when they do things like that." Kyoji said as the fireball rose upwards. "So…" he looked at Serena, still fuming at him. "Look, you're Ash's. I'm not going to bother TRYING to fight that. But… can you not be murderous if he talks to a girl?"

Serena reached into a pocket in her dress' skirt, pulling out a pill bottle and putting one in her mouth, swallowing it before sighing. "I have… conditions. And voices. I can barely keep them in check half the time, but… they're all so EXCITED to be near Ash again after so long…" she said, trailing off. "Some want to do _things_ to him. Some want him to do things to us. I'm… just sure I love him."

Kyoji resisted smirking. Progress! It required medication, but _any_ progress _was_ progress.

"So… why don't you tell me how you met him?" Kyoji asked, hoping this would help him gain an insight into Serena's… yanderism.

Yes, he knew this wasn't a word: YOU try figuring out a word that works. (WHACK!)

Serena closed her eyes. "It was nine years ago," she said. "I was four, almost five, he was a bit older. My mom was on some trip in Rota: some trade deal. I didn't care. I just wanted to go home. She left me with Professor Oak, when he was holding some training day."

The heiress' eye twitched. "I was terrified. I didn't know anyone, I was somewhere I wasn't familiar with… I got lost in the woods." she then sighed. "Then I was attacked by a Pokemon. Just a wild Oddish, but I was alone, no one to help me." The girl then made a happy sound. "Then he came, black hair and brown eyes, throwing a rock at the weed before it ran away. And all he did after that was ask if I was ok."

"And… that's how you fell for him?" Kyoji asked. It was so cliche, but sweet.

"Oh, no. It was all the little things after that." she replied. "He spent all day with me, leaving his other friends alone. We talked a lot. He taught me Kantoan, I taught him Kalosian...Before I knew it, I was happy. Then I left, went home. I didn't forget him. And he didn't forget me. We stayed in touch for months before… _it_ happened."

"It?" Kyoji pried before Serena glared at him, making him recoil.

"That's not my place to say. All I was told was something happened to Ash." the Kalosian noble snapped. "I stopped getting letters from him. I thought he forgot me until his mom sent one to me a few years later, saying he was in a bad way, but still cared about me. That's when I fell in love: when he was in the worst way imaginable, HE was worried about ME."

Koyji said nothing. He didn't have a chance before something exploded inside the gym.

* * *

Explosions of any kind were never a good thing, as Ash watched the smog clear, finding half the gym floor turned to molten rock and Magmar on his knees with Charizard flapping his wings to hover above the floor.

"At this point, I don't really CARE if you do any damage to this place. I've been wanting to renovate for MONTHS!" Blaine cried. "Just cut loose!"

"Are you sure-" Ash started before Charizard looked at him, his gaze begging to say yes. Magmar did the same to Blaine, who was waiting for Ash.

"…Just don't kill each other." Ash said. "I don't want to fish your bones out of the lava this gym's sitting over."

"Ash, just so you are aware, it's magma: lava is the surface brand of molten rock." Blaine corrected before gesturing towards Charizard with his right arm. "You heard him! Give it all you got!"

"Mar!" '_I've been waiting for this!_' Magmar said before inhaling and unleashing a Fire Blast, the star-shaped attack heading for the Flame Pokemon, who just smirked.

"Char!" '_I can do better than that!_' Charizard said as he charged up what looked like a hyper beam, only… with fire-type energy?

"What the-" Ash wondered before Blaine's glasses fell off his face in shock, right before Charizard fired.

"BLAST BURN! Magmar, get down!" Blaine ordered as the apparent Blast Burn shot right through the Fire Blast, Magmar not getting down in time, getting a full face of it while Blaine had to hug the ground as it tore through the wall behind him.

"That was _not _Blast Burn." Ash said. He'd seen Blast burn twice in a row: THAT was a Hyper Beam.

"That damn well WAS Blast Burn!" Blaine said as the back wall of the gym fell away, exposing them to the outside. "Hyper Beam only works with two other elements: fire and water! Frenzy Plant's just fuckin' NUTS."

Ash did not want to know.

Charizard huffed as he recharged, roaring in triumph. But the battle was not over as Magmar stood up, roaring.

Charizard grinned. He was going to ENJOY this. The dragon flapped his wings, rushing towards Magmar. There would be no fancy maneuvering. No dodges, no evading.

This would be a brawl.

Magmar clenched his fists, rushing at Charizard, fire forming in them as Charizard's glowed with draconic energy, rearing back for a punch of his own as the two met in the middle of the field, Magmar's fist slamming into Charizard's muzzle while Charizard's Dragon Claw impacted Magmar's right eye, bones cracking as they broke.

Charizard bit the Spitfire Pokemon in the shoulder, breathing dragonfire onto the fire-type as he did, Magmar's fist repeatedly slamming into Charizard's side, Fire Punch after Fire Punch fracturing and breaking rib after rib.

Charizard tossed him into a wall, the concrete and rebar breaking as the wall dented, Magmar getting up and charging at Charizard, who took to the air once more, charging another Blast Burn.

"Oh, hell." Ash said before drawing Garchomp's Pokeball as Blaine ran out of the soon-to-be-ruined gym's back… hole.

It wasn't illegal to use another Pokemon while a battle was ongoing so long as that Pokemon didn't DO anything to aid in the fight. Garchomp would be used to avoid the literal tons of molten rock Charizard was about to force up as he fired, the beam in excess of however hot Blast Burn could get to instantly turn rock to lava.

About 2500 degrees kelvin. (WHACK!)

* * *

Charizard grinned as Magmar sank into the lava, floundering like a liferaft in a storm.

He'd survive: Magmar lived in lava in the wild. And if he was right… things would get interesting.

The rock exploded like a cannon was shot out of it, a large roaring Magmar-looking Pokemon with cannons for arms emerging from the pool.

Charizard liked a good fight. He, like Ash, also liked a FAIR fight, that Sliggoo thing just being his way to keep the snail from getting too badly hurt. Magmar was only a second-stage Pokemon to his final stage: it wouldn't be satisfying, or fair, to beat a Pokemon like that.

He would be in severe pain for a few days while he healed. It would be worth it as he dove at the Magmortar, roaring and laughing.

He loved a good fight almost as much as he loved his mate. One step closer to winning her heart again.

* * *

Ash, on Garchomp's back, watched as Charizard dove in and tackled the newly-evolved Magmortar, flying them both into the volcano's slope.

"The League is going to kill me." Ash said as the two Pokemon punched, kicked and in blasted each other with dragonfire and regular fire.

It was brutal. It was so… uncivilized.

But the Magmortar got what he wanted.

"Pika." '_I don't think they'll mind. I mean, Charizard tore down that gym for Blaine._' Pikachu said, hanging onto Ash's shoulder.

"Chomp…" '_I'm torn. I want to be the little land shark… but that's AWESOME,_' Garchomp said as Charizard grabbed Marmortar from behind, cackling all the while, looking at Ash to just give the word.

"SEISMIC TOSS!" Ash yelled. Charizard BEAMED with violent glee before climbing higher. And higher.

Eventually, the pair climbed high enough that Ash couldn't see them until about a second later, when they came back down, spinning, Charizard's roaring, while intimidating to all, to him was merely joyous laughter as he released Magmortar, who was still glowing with fighting-type energy as he slammed into the side of the volcano, making a small, but very visible, crater.

Garchomp set them down outside the gym, Serena and Misty being the first to approach, the latter to just congratulate him, the former… let's say it was a good thing he hadn't returned Garchomp yet as she latched onto him.

* * *

Kyoji was staring at the volcano, specifically the new crater on the side, then at Charizard, who was tired, in pain, but clearly VERY happy.

"That… was _awesome_." he said, before one of his Pokeballs activated, releasing another Charizard. Somewhat older, but less battle hardened.

He looked at the crater, Kyoji pointing at Ash's Charizard as if saying 'he did it'.

Ash's near-dragon landed, weary, but ready for more.

Kyoji knew Charizard. He was as interested in awesome things as he was. And Ash's flame dragon slammed a Magmortar into the side of a volcano from an altitude a hell of a lot higher than fifteen thousand feet, give or take a foot.

His Charizard's eyes gleamed. But Charizard would wait to fanboy over his new senpai. The guy needed to rest.

* * *

**Cinnabar Island PMC - 1245 hours local time - Day 78**

* * *

It was 'suggested' that Ash spend a night getting an excessive amount of water into his system. Sliggoo and Garchomp as well, especially Sliggoo, who was back at the Ranch, soaking in a pool. Garchomp just used the evolite and… basically turned into a land shark water balloon.

Even Serena, who Gible wasn't a fan of, thought it was adorable as sin as he rolled across the floor.

Everyone stared at him and how he could be so cute, Ash smiling as Gible eyesmiled, then rolled outside, sluggishly digging into the ground just as Blaine entered, looking a bit charred, but still kicking, carrying a small box with the assistance of a young Magby. "Ash Ketchum, I damn well hope you're in here!" he yelled, making all in the Pokemon Center flinch, with Ash as the exception as he just stood up.

"Here, sir." he said before the gym leader and his young assistant approached him, Blaine taking off his shades with a grin.

"Young man, you gave me a run for my money, and your Charizard certainly gave me an excuse to remodel my gym." the old man said, Magby offering the box. "That being said, your big dragon has a long while to go, promise or not. On that note…" Blaine flipped the latch on the box, opening it, revealing that it contained massive polished gemstones, all with different colors and all with a double-helix at their core, with one very small pearl, also with a double-helix within.

"Mega Stones? And a Key Stone?" Ash asked, confused as to why Blaine would give him Mega Stones of all things. "Why?"

"Because I can't use them and you can!" Blaine said, laughing. "I don't have a Charizard or a Pidgeot and I'm not getting a Sceptile or Gyarados. I don't even know what the other two are for! Maybe a true Master like yourself will find them more useful!"

Ash blinked. A Master? He wasn't even _close_. To him, a Pokemon Master always won the Leagues he fought in. Ash hadn't even won _one_.

"I'm no master, Blaine." Ash said, doubt in his voice. "I just started." The old man just chuckled, putting his hand on Ash's shoulder.

"You are. A Pokemon Master isn't some type-specialist. He is a jack of all trades that just so happens to be the master of all." Blaine said. "I've seen your gym battle footage. You had type-disadvantage and still beat your opponents. I have no idea how you survived Sabrina's onslaught or made her how she is now, but even your two losses to Brock weren't due to your own failings, but your Pokemon not having something down pat. Your tactics were sound, your faith in your Pokemon total. You are your mother's son."

Ash didn't agree. Six league failures begged to differ. A _dead timeline_ begged to differ.

"Now, there's a ferry to Pallet Town leaving tomorrow and your siblings are no doubt wanting to see you." Blaine said, 'suggesting' Ash's next action. "That and I have no doubt after beating me, you've got Giovanni in your sights."

Ash's doubt burned away, replaced with cold hate and loathing for the man he believed to be his father. "You have _no _idea." he said.

* * *

**Viridian Gym - 1345 Hours local time**

* * *

Rockets dressed as regular trainers packed their gear, preparing to hide until Giovanni called once more, the boss himself ordering the destruction of all Rocket-related items built into the facility.

That Mewtwo stasis tank was to be armored to the point of madness and equipped with a teleport dampener. NO ONE was getting that thing out without a small army.

"Go underground. I don't care how far you have to go, just_ do it_." Giovanni ordered, having a new plan to avoid his sister's wrath: take control of the underworld and hand over the keys to Lance. You couldn't eliminate crime, just _regulate_ it.

The doors to the gym opened, making all the grunts draw their weapons and point them at the intruder.

They then dropped them in terror at who walked in.

An otherwise motherly looking woman with brown hair and eyes, dressed in jeans, a jacket and simple shirt, a rifle hung over her shoulder with a younger woman that looked like her, only with long and incredibly frizzy black hair tied into a ponytail with a black jacket and matching skirt.

"Hello, _brother_." said Delia Sakai-Ketchum, her smile hollow and expression anything but cheerful. "I think you and I need to have a discussion."

* * *

Entry 39: Eevee

The Evolution Pokemon, said to resemble a long extinct fox, is an uncommon Pokemon in the wild in Kanto, to the point where it was considered extinct in Kanto until a small colony was discovered in AS15 by a young Giovanni Sakai near Celadon.

Eevee's genetic code is exceedingly malleable, to the point where it has eight confirmed evolutionary stages: Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon and Sylveon, which all specialize in long range attacks in their respective types. Eevee are common victims of Pokemon breeder houses, where they are brutalized to the point where they attack humans on sight.

Team Rocket's Project Mewtwo also involved Eevees in this way, where an Eevee was given genetic material from Mewtwo and forcibly hit with condensed infinity energy over a period of eight months. It has been confirmed that this Eevee is now in the custody of Ash Ketchum, who has begun slowly rehabilitating it. Knowing Ketchum's reputation to make any Pokemon calm and sane, we should expect Eevee to be just as dangerous as any Pokemon in his case.

* * *

Entry 40: Poipole

Intel stolen from the Aether Foundation indicates that Pokemon do not just exist on Arceti, but throughout the universe. While implied with the existence of Pokemon such as Deoxys and the Beheeyem line of Pokemon, it was confirmed with the capture of two Pokemon that the Aether Foundation designated UB-01 Symbiont and UB-02 Absorption, later coined Nihilego and Buzzwole respectively.

The most recently documented is UB-11 Adhesive, named Poipole. Humanoid in that it has two arms and legs, it has a massive head and tail, emitting toxic poisons until learning non-Poipole cannot handle them as easily. It is unknown whether or not Poipole evolves, but the similarities between Poipole and Naganadel cannot be denied. The Solar Duo of Alola commonly drop Ultra Beasts into Alola to test the populace, but one has been seemingly randomly dropped into Kanto, only to be caught by Ash Ketchum.

Personal notes from Jessie Yamato: WE ARE SO FUCKED!

* * *

**Takeshi Yamato: So. 7th Badge, an Ultra-Beast, several Mega Stones.**

**Ron the True Fan: A gimmick almost no one uses. Seriously, everyone hates Mega Garchomp's stats and abilities, so they don't use him. And this is arguably the longest chapter of the fic so far. (Natu lands on head) …Shit. Jorn's not here. (Jackhammer pecking) DAMN YOU, PARROT!**

**Takeshi Yamato: (Laughs) Natus really don't like you here without him, do they?**

**Natu: (Stops pecking for a second) Natu. (Resumes)**

**Ron the True Fan: (Sounding like he's on a vibrating chair or something) At any rate, Ash is going to Viridian after a brief stop at Pallet. (Looks up) STOP PECKING ME!**

**Natu: (Smug) Natu. (WHACK! By purple hair)**

**Ron the True Fan: Danke.**

**(belly-dancer-looking lady with purple hair walks over)**

**Shantae: This better be worth it. I don't even star in this fic!**

**Ron the True Fan: (Cackles)**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yes, folks, Ron has discovered **_**Shantae**_**.**

**Ron the True Fan: Now Nintendo should get off their asses and put her in the next **_**Smash **_**title. Christ, she's on all of their handhelds to begin with. (Natu tries landing only to get whipped)**

**Ja Ne!**


	27. Chapter 26: Pallet Folly

**Ron the True Fan: Welcome back. (Natu attempts landing, but gets whipped away)**

**Shantae: Why am I even here?**

**Ron the True Fan: Free rent.**

**Takeshi Yamato: That and because a **_**40K **_**artist led Ron to discovering music from one of your games, which led to him watching one.**

**Shantae: **_**40K**_**? As in **_**Warhammer**_**? Wait a minute… Run, Run, Rottytops?**

**Ron the True Fan: Stringstorm's version is catchy as hell. It's the fuckin' StringStorm Effect, man.**

* * *

**Route 21, ferry en route to Pallet Town port - 0952 hours local time - Day 79 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

Ash sat at the prow of the ferry, thinking about what to do. Mostly who to take against Giovanni.

Charizard would happily go up against the man that was both Team Rocket's Boss and supposed to be Viridian City's Gym Leader. Ash wasn't happy that Charizard considered it a matter of guilt for the last time, but he wasn't going to bother arguing with him.

Gible gave Misty a headbite, being playful after… expelling all the water before they left. Maybe Gible? …No, he still needed to get used to being a Garchomp.

"Qui?" '_Ash?_' asked Quilava, who Ash brought in just in case Blaine had something more. Fortunately, there were only three Pokemon he had to worry about, so he let her out for the trip home.

"What's up, Quilava?" he asked, petting his friend and battle partner's head. She had been acting weird the entire trip, looking straight towards Pallet Town while wandering listlessly.

"Qui?" '_When we get back to Pallet Town, can I… show you something?_' she asked sheepishly. "Quilava." '_You'll understand when you see it._'

Ash smiled. "Sure. As long as it's not something world-ending." he said, snorting at a weak joke. What could Quilava have to show him that would make her so nervous?

* * *

The Ranseian shinobi and his female Kantoan counterpart were observing Misty, Iris and Anabel. Janine had decided to aid in keeping her new liege lord sane and assist them in getting him and the young women clearly attracted to him together. Serena was just… impossible for her to approach and speak to without getting an explosive bolt to the chest.

"So… plan B?" Kyoji asked, given that Ash was at the front of the ferry, refusing to allow them to make any 'suggestive accidents'. In fact, Ash had gone out of his way to avoid such things.

"Dad's going to take a while." Sabrina said, Janine STILL trying to process the psychic's status as Ash's adoptive child. "Might as well shift to the available ones, right?"

"Yeah, best to take care of the girls, before we focus on the man," Kyoji nodded, "Hopefully _that _will solve itself once we run into his mother… assuming Giovanni _is _telling the truth… if not, then this will become a far more difficult uphill battle…"

"If Ash is telling the truth-" Janine started.

"He is," Sabrina interrupted, Janine glaring at her before she continued.

"IF he is telling the truth, he is the leader of Team Rocket. An organization that has committed unspeakable evils in their quest to take control of Kanto and possibly the former URN." the kunoichi finished. "And in Ash's point of view, if Giovanni was lying simply to confuse him, then that is something we must consider. Giovanni would lie to save face, to weaken Ash's resolve, to do anything to win. And Ghetsis was there. Would you tell the leader of Team Plasma anything truly important?"

Kyoji had no idea what Team Plasma was about- '_A political extremist group trying to take over Unova by any means necessary. Team Rocket looks civilized compared to them._' chimed Sabrina in his head. '_Honestly, Ash might be thinking that Giovanni lied because Ghetsis was there and he has a reputation for… blackmail, shall we say._'

"That's assuming Geovanni actually would _care _about family if that were the case," Kyoji mused, "If he was Ash's father and lied about his mother, he obviously doesn't care two shits about either of them - otherwise he'd be trying to groom Ash to be his successor since day one. But since he hasn't, that means he doesn't care about Ash… but if he's telling the truth, it makes more sense why he'd leave him alone, and only have that weird trio group following us around… in fact, Ghetsis would probably get more blackmail if Geovanni was telling the truth there, than if he were telling what Ash _thinks _is the truth."

"Delia will have the answers we need." Janine said.

"…at this point, all we can do is cross our fingers, and pray to Arceus that for once, the leader of Team Rocket was being an honest man…" Kyoji sighed.

"We're doomed." Sabrina said almost cheerfully before looking at Misty and Iris having a mild argument. "Any thoughts on dealing with them?"

Kyoji sighed. Shipping was _hard_.

* * *

**Pallet Town - Oak Ranch - 1126 hours local time**

* * *

Samual Oak was an old man trying to make a living that just so happened to improve people's lives.

At his age, he should really just sit down, pop open a cold one and relax all day long. Sadly, that wasn't going to happen as a Xatu teleported in with two preteens, one of which puked on his floor.

"Bulba." said Ash's Bulbasaur, who facevined at the mess.

"Uggghhhh… I hate teleporting…" said Yellow Ketchum as she got her bearings...right before puking yet again, her brother avoiding the growing...area of stomach contents.

"Hey, Professor." said Red, even as he avoided the vomit on the floor. "We… convinced Mom's Xatu to bring us home."

Yellow finally stopped, only to walk through her pool and trail it outside.

"…That is disgusting." Red said, voicing the opinions of all.

"Your sister doesn't like teleporting. But I have good news." Oak said before Xatu glared at the mess and telekinetically flung it outside, splattering it on Ash's Grovyle.

Oak grabbed his surrogate grandson and dragged him to a safer area before aforementioned Grove Pokemon ran into the lab, grabbed Xatu and dragged him outside for a massive beating.

"…As I was saying…" Oak started as Grovyle and Xatu began their fight. "According to the Pokedex transmitter, your brother is on his way back to Pallet Town."

"Really?" Red asked. "It's only been two months. Doesn't it take three to get around Kanto?"

The young man had a point: Kanto, while the smallest of the former provinces of the URN, was still large enough that the typical time to make it from town to town was three months.

That being said, Ash wasn't visiting every town, village and hamlet in Kanto: he sent Pidgeot and Noctowl to make damn sure he didn't get lost. And occasionally send messages to aforementioned towns: he got a letter from those Eeveelution Brothers about the other Eeveelutions, for example. They weren't happy when they learned Espeon and Umbreon were a thing.

Oak, of course, knew why, but he wasn't telling.

"He's just visiting the gyms. And avoided Rock Tunnel AND that nonsense in Dark Town." the old man replied. "When you're not taking in the scenery, it takes just over a month to make your way across Kanto. And your brother doesn't seem to be doing much of that."

"What's the point? He could just fly to the gyms if he wasn't wanting to wait." Red said, knowing Ash and he had something in common: the urge to explore and travel.

"He _does _have travelling companions," the professor said before Grovyle was slammed into the building by Xatu, who smugly glared at him before Grovyle - stupidly - rushed at him again. "And Pidgeot can only carry two at most."

Red thought about it, then nodded. "Good point. He'd need something like a legendary to cart him and his girlfriends around," Oak gave him a look, curious as to what he meant. "Oh, come on, Professor. He's the Crown Prince of Rota and I know they're allowed. Besides, after the… thing…"

Oak solemnly nodded. "Yes. He certainly does deserve to be happy after all that. Those burns…" he trailed off, both of them shuddering at remembering what happened before Xatu slammed into the building.

Grovyle was _pissed_.

* * *

**Viridian City Gym - 1246 hours local time - Day 78**

* * *

Giovanni stared at his sister and niece, former stating brazenly at the entrance to his gym while the latter was confused.

Hr was on edge and his grunts...one had shit her pants, judging from the smell.

"So… you really are our uncle?" Belladonna asked. Giovanni sighed. Of course Delia wouldn't tell them. No, she wanted to keep any ties to the family that ran the Team secret. She considered them a blight on Kanto. On Nihon in general.

"Yes," Giovanni answered, after debating it. "Giovanni Sakai. Head of Team Rocket and your mother's elder brother." he glanced at Delia, who looked relaxed, if eager to end anyone that started anything. "But _not_ the better trainer."

"It helps that I give a damn about them outside of combat." Delia said, walking deeper into the building, one grunt having a bright idea to shoot her, raising his rifle to blow her brains out.

It was telekinetically yanked out of his hands and shoved into his mouth, breaking all of his teeth and his jaw.

Mimey was not one to leave his trainer's safety in question, even if he wasn't in the building to ensure it.

"If any of you idiots try that again, I will shoot you myself," Giovanni snapped. He and his sister may have had their disagreements, but that was a line he did not cross. "And don't doubt it: I shot Archer in the head."

"Numbnuts is dead?" Delia asked, confused. "When?"

"A month and a half ago. He and Proton attacked the _Olympic_," her brother replied. "The idiot paid for his stupidity with his life."

"And Proton?" Belladonna asked, having had… history with the admin.

"Dead. Koga killed him, even if he took the bastard with him," the boss answered. "Which took even MORE men from the Team with his stunt."

"I guess they made my job easier," Delia said, chuckling. "You always needed Ariana to keep them under your thumb and she was too interested in avoiding having me after her to hold onto their leash."

"What do you want, Delia? I'm fairly sure with Team Rocket essentially dead, I'm no threat to your son anymore," Giovanni spat.

His sister smirked. "I'm here to referee Ash's battle against you." she said, much to his shock.

"You can't do that: you've been out of the game for almost 20 years!" Giovanni yelled. She hadn't been on the active league roster since Belladonna was in diapers, officially retiring when Ash was born.

"I might have been off the _active _roster, but I'm still on the reserves." Delia said, to Giovanni's horror. Half the purpose of the League was to prevent a repeat of the Cipher War, after all. The other being bread and circus. A _bored _population is a _mobbing _population, after all.

"Tell me you're going back to Pallet Town." Giovanni all but begged. Sakais did not beg.

"Oh, no, big brother." Delia said, smirking with torturous glee. "We're staying here. Ash won't be staying at Pallet for long: enough to check up on his Pokemon, but he'll be here within a couple of days. I think he knows where you live."

Giovanni groaned. This was why he stayed away from his sister. She was _insufferable_.

* * *

**Pallet Town Port - 1358 hours local time - Day 79**

* * *

Ash did not expect to get tackled by his sister once he stepped off the boat.

He still wasn't used to having two younger siblings, feeling a bit guilty that he wasn't there for them. But this, to Ash, just provided further justification that he was right not to get romantically involved, no matter how painful it felt.

"Welcome home, Ash!" Yellow said, glomping onto her elder brother. "We didn't think you'd be back so soon!"

"What she said," said Red before he reached for Ash's hand, struggling to help him up before Yellow got off her eldest brother, Red nearly falling on his rear when she did.

Ash got up, chuckling before Yellow noticed who else was coming off the boat with the crowd, Serena glaring at any of the opposite gender that dared to cop a feel, which made it easier for the other girls, sans Sabrina because she had a reputation, to get off the ship.

"Who are these people?" she asked, looking at them closely. "I know about Misty and Anabel, but… the others?"

Serena, once she got off the gangway, looked at Yellow, not recognizing her and glaring at her for a moment. "Who in the name of-" she started to ask before Ash got to his feet and looked at Serena.

"My little sister." Ash said. "Yellow Ketchum."

Serena blinked, jealousy and anger fading as fast as they came. "You're going to be my little sister-in-law?" she asked, kneeling to her height. "I'm Serena. Ash's fiance." she said.

Yellow blinked as she looked at Serena. "You are _very_ messed up." she said, deciding on something. "You need help. A lot of help."

"And you're starting to remind me of that brat I ran into on the _Germanic_," Serena said, her eye twitching in annoyance.

"Don't blame me for saying the truth," Yellow replied. "Besides, my brother likes you. He'll fix you."

Ash stared at his little sister in shock. Did… she just…

Serena practically _beamed _at that last part, Yellow turning and putting her hands behind her head. "All the girls that like my bigger brother are weird." she said, walking towards Iris and Janine, the former trying to blend into the crowd. Yellow, though, found her easily. "You're that ninja guy's daughter."

Janine nodded. "Janine of Fuchsia City." she answered. "You must be Ash's little sister." The younger blonde nodded. "You are more mature than one would assume."

"Are you my brother's other girlfriend?" Yellow asked, looking Janine in the eye, unamused, making her take aback. "I know he's got Misty. And Anabel looks like she likes him."

Janine sighed, knowing that was not an easy thing to explain. "That… depends on Ash. I am sworn to him… it is complicated," she said, Yellow just shrugging at it.

"You'll figure it out," the youngest Ketchum said before looking at Iris. "And you're… Unovan?"

Iris chuckled nervously. "Yes…?" she said.

"You hurt as bad as Ash does. He'll help you if you help him," Yellow said before walking towards Ash and Red, her brothers staring.

"Uh-" Ash started to say.

"Yellow's always like this. Spends too much time with Mimey," Red explained, before looking at his older brother. "Don't you remember?"

Ash held his head, a headache forming almost immediately. He still hadn't remembered everything in this timeline. And when he tried to think back before the day he came back, he got nosebleeds and headaches.

Red, fortunately, decided to drop it. "Well, you've been through a lot." his younger brother said before smirking. "Want to show your girlfriends home?"

"WHY does no one get that I don't have interest in a romantic relationship?" Ash said, moaning as Pikachu cackled on his shoulder.

* * *

**Oak Ranch - 20 minutes later**

* * *

Kyoji insisted Ash should go on ahead. The unwilling Crown Prince was suspicious, but Quilava popped out of her ball and urged him to go on. Misty agreed, mostly to attempt to get to know Serena better because crazy or not, they were stuck with each other.

So Charizard flew them to the Ranch, where Ash was then Wrap-attacked by Dratini. Apparently, the dragon was very hug-happy and was now caught up in mass training sessions involving the Professor's Dragonite, which this was the first Ash was aware of them. Quilava was exempt for some reason.

"Qui!" '_Over here, Ash!_' said Quilava, taking him deeper into the depths of the ranch as the Dragonite arrived, right before things turned into a warzone with all but Quilava and Pikachu getting involved in what Ash worried was attempted murder. He did voice it, but Quilava waved it off as Monferno (and this was the first he heard of him evolving) was smacked into a pond.

That only made him MORE worried as the battle became more distant. "If anyone dies, Quilava-" Ash warned before Quilava waved it off again.

"Qui, Qui!" '_They'll be fine. That Chansey patches them up,_' Quilava said before the arrived in a small quarry, with small bushes growing on the slopes. "Lava." '_We're here. Hang on._'

Ash stopped as Quilava poked her head into a small cave, gently cooing at… something before backing off, as if something was coming out. Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder in case whatever it was was a threat.

There was no point, as what came out was small, blue and cream-bellied with a long snort, two short arms and had seemingly always-closed eyes like Brock. In other words, a Cyndaquil.

A… YOUNG Cyndaquil. Very young.

"Aw, did you adopt a Cyndaquil?" Ash asked, the young fire badger hiding behind Quilava at seeing Ash.

"Pika?" '_Ash… that Cyndaquil smells like Quilava. And not because of proximity, either,_' Pikachu said, sniffing the air to pick up the Cyndaquil's scent. "Chu…" '_I think… Ok, Quilava, who's the father?_'

Ash stared at Pikachu, then at Quilava, then at Cyndaquil, unable to truly comprehend that Quilava was a mother. None of his Pokemon had eggs in the last timeline!

"Qui." '_I'm not telling you,_' Quilava said before looking at her child. "Qui…" '_Sweetheart, this is Ash. he's my adoptive brother. That makes him your uncle._'

Cyndaquil looked at Ash from behind his mom, Ash's face speaking of how dumbfounded he was.

"Cynda!" '_Funny man!_' said the little fire-type. Ash stared at Cyndaquil, only making him laugh more. Ash just couldn't get mad at him, so he reached for the little guy slowly and gently, picking him up.

"You're as cute as your mom was when she was a Cyndaquil." Ash said as Cyndaquil happily 'quil'ed, his mother looking on in worry before Ash carefully put him down.

"Why keep him a secret, Quilava?" Ash asked, looking at the fire badger. "You know I wouldn't hurt him."

"Qui…" '_Well… I want him to pick his own trainer,_' Quilava replied before collecting her child in her forepaws. "Lava." '_I mean, you're nice and all, but… You kinda jump into dangerous situations too often. We're willing to risk our lives to save the world…_' Quilava rubbed her head against her child's, making the little guy make a happy 'quil'. "Lava." '_But I am _not _risking my son._'

Ash kneeled and put his hand on Quilava's head, smiling. "I would never ask you to do that," he said, before rubbing Quilava's head, making her do her own 'qui'.

An explosion caught their attention before they saw Red running into the quarry, screaming his head off. "THAT DRAGONITE IS NUTS!" the youngest Ketchum brother yelled as aforementioned Dragonite flew overhead, being chased by Charizard, all of his flying Pokemon save for Rowlet, as well as Garchomp. The young man slid across the dirt, groaning in pain as his hat landed in front of him.

"You ok, Red?" Ash said as he walked over to his younger brother, kneeling to check on him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Red said, wincing as he reached for his hat, only for it not to be there.

"Quil!" '_Head thing!_' said Cyndaquil as he… wore the hat, stumbling around blind. Ash just stared and subconsciously grabbed onto the rim of his own cap.

"Hey! That's my hat!" Red said before going after Cyndaquil, Who blindly ran around the dirt and rock ground of the quarry. Ash couldn't help but smile. He needed a moment like this, to remember what he was fighting for.

This might not have been his timeline… but it was worth fighting for.

Red finally caught up, removing the hat from Cyndaquil's possession, But the fire mouse just tackled Red, playing with him.

* * *

**One hour later**

* * *

Kyoji could not help but go 'aw' at the little Cyndaquil in Red's hands as he took the little guy around the lab, trying to ignore the aerial battle above, even as a Dratini snaked past him and 'attacked' Misty by wrapping around her.

"…Yeah, I have a good idea where that's going." Kyoji said, even as Yellow guided them in, the younger-if-surprisingly-mature girl taking all but one of the girls into the lab.

The sole exclusion… was Serena, who, prior to walking to Pallet, changed into a more practical outfit with a pink skirt and black shirt, her very… poofy dress shoved into a backpack she had refused to allow anyone to carry for her.

That left her with Kyoji, who decided to try and… help her with her issues.

"So…" Kyoji started, getting the somewhat crazy yandere to look at him. "You know Ash… kinda needs a harem? Legal obligation and all that?"

The honey-blonde girl snorted. "I am _not_ happy about that. None of… _us… _are." she said, clenching her fists. "He is _mine_. I only got engaged to him because someone discovered his heritage. I would have given up EVERYTHING to be with him."

Kyoji chuckled at Serena's… declaration. "You're committed, I'll give you that," He chuckled, "Though… that whole… split personality thing is kinda… freaky… but, like Yellow said, pretty sure Ash can fix that somehow… however, back on topic: you admit you don't like it, but considering his _legal obligations_, as well as his own… issues, are you willing to accept him having a harem? You can be like… the head of the harem or something like that?"

Serena thought about it. "That's kinda how they're _supposed _to work…" she said. "One 'queen', as it were…" she made a noise that Kyoji could only claim was 'lewd and disturbing' later on. "And the others being concubines. So many people don't get that…"

Not untrue: harems, in the traditional sense, weren't simply a 'collection' of girls, as there was some structure to it, a hierarchy. But in more recent days, that was forgotten.

"So that means you're… cool with this, right?" Kyoji asked, looking at her warily. "Are you willing to share a little bit?"

Serena sighed, as if all of the voices in her head were annoyed at the concept. "I won't like it. But I'll do it. Besides…" she said, trailing off before a look that belonged more on a perverted old man's face popped up on hers. "I'm not against… experimenting when the time comes."

And part of her was a perverted letch. _That _was good to know.

"...just to sate my own curiosity," Kyoji sighed, "...do you have names for each of your split personalities?"

Serena looked at him as if that was a stupid question. "Why would I NAME them? I don't even know why they're in there, other than that psychic bastard trying to make me like him instead of Ash!" she exclaimed. "He got what he deserved…"

"...And what did he get?" Kyoji asked, somewhat weirded out.

"A crossbow bolt to the chest." the heiress replied cheerfully, as if that was the right answer. "Didn't kill him, but he's missing a lung now."

'_Note to self: keep away from that self-ratcheting torque bow of hers._' Kyoji thought as Sabrina came back, blushing up a storm.

"Hello, daughter." Serena said frostily, as if unconvinced that was what she considered herself.

"You can just call me Sabrina and I need SOMETHING that isn't Misty's subconscious." the psychic said. "That girl has wet daydreams."

"So?" Kyoji shrugged, "She's a water-type trainer, of course her dreams involve… water..." he trailed off a bit as he put two-and-two together… "…ohhh myyyy…"

"I'm not sure if it's that psychic imprint or just her personality, but…" Sabrina suddered. "I don't want to know if I picked up any of that from her."

Kyoji blushed as he got… impressions… from Sabrina. To say they were perverted was an understatement.

To say he didn't plop Sabrina in Misty's place for those images is _also _an understatement and he damn well hoped she didn't notice.

From her shaking her head and muttering that Misty was a damned pervert, she didn't.

'_Dodged a bullet!_' he thought. "Ma'am, do you mind if me and Sabrina… well…" he said, trailing off.

"Just make sure they know I'M on top. In more ways then one…" she said, sounding haughty and perverted all at the same time before going to see what else Ash captured.

"…He's fucked." he said, summing up Ash's situation.

"It depends on your point of view if that's good or bad." Sabrina said before shuddering again. "I'll talk to Iris. You talk to Anabel. I don't think she's ready to deal with… me yet."

"No problem," Kyoji nodded, "Good luck with her, she's still new and all after all."

Sabrina nodded before walking off, then pausing and looking at him. "…I'm not sure who's to blame for THAT: _me _for leaking out the image or _you _for putting you and me in their place!" she yelled.

"I'm sorry!" Kyoji said urgently, Sabrina just sighing before shaking her head.

"We'll… discuss it later." the psychic said before walking off. The shinobi looked at his Gible, who was in the ground, digging.

"There goes my luck again…" he muttered.

"Gible-Gib-Gib." said Gible.

"…and once again, I wish I understood what you were saying, little guy…" Kyoji sighed, "Welp… talk to Anabel, and then start digging my own grave for Sabrina…"

"Gib!"

"If she's as mad as I think she is, I'll be lucky if there's enough to send back to Ransei…" he shrugged. "Welp… let's get going… this is what I get for trading my love life luck to give the chosen one a harem..."

* * *

Anabel was spending time with Drozee, the occasional Hypno, a whole FLOCK of Natu and a small family of Ralts.

Typical: psychics were more comfortable with psychic-types.

The Natu flock stared at him before his own Natu came out of his ball, nesting on his head.

"Natu." said the bird to his mainland counterparts.

"NATU." replied the flock as one, making Kyoji somewhat nervous before they just kept staring with those unblinking eyes.

Anabel looked back, her own Natu hopping towards her with Eevee on her lap as she sat among the psychics. "Do you need something, Mr. Akamura?" the purplette asked as Eevee snored happily.

"Yeah… I guess you could say I'm taking a survey with Sabrina-" All of the Natus looked at him. "-who opted not to approach you due to your history and all, and she is respecting your boundaries." The Natus all relaxed in perfect sync.

"I see…" Anabel nodded, "I… know she's not the same Sabrina as before, its just… hard to get over is all… what is this survey about?"

"…can't you just… read my mind like she does?" Kyoji blinked.

"I have a bit more control, so I'm not constantly… _peeking _like she does," Anabel assured. "Not unless you want me too…"

"…nah, having psychic birds and Sabrina poking in my head is enough." Jaden shrugged.

"Natu," his Natu nodded sagely.

"Anyways…" he glanced around. "…let me be blunt: I'm asking you and the other girls about… Ash."

Anabel closed her eyes. "You want to talk about… Ash." she said. "You want to honestly know my opinion of him?"

"Kinda why I'm asking," Kyoji said, shrugging as Anabel's Eevee got up, circling her trainer, who sighed.

"I wanted to live. I didn't want to be that… THING'S next host. Then my Natu brought Ash to the gym," she said, her Natu jumping on her head and relaxing. "He fought so hard for no reason other than to save me… then Sabrina got into his head and mindwiped herself."

"I've heard," Kyoji deadpanned. "Apparently, looking into his head is a bad idea."

"It killed a Hypno when he probed too deep." Anabel said, closing her eyes. "At first...I thought I'd just use him as a shield. Someone to keep other… creatures like Sabrina away until I was strong enough to push them away on my own. But...he tries to do the right thing, helping people. Did you know he rushed into Silph Co to stop Team Rocket, only to get shot for his troubles?"

"I heard," Kyoji nodded, "Sounds like an amazing guy and all… perfect boyfriend material, if you'd ask me…"

"Are you asking if I have feelings for Ash?"

"…putting it bluntly, yes." He nodded. "And, if you do… would you be willing to… well… _share _the love with the other women he's captivated in his travels?"

Anabel blushed at that. "Misty's past self is a pervert." she muttered.

"…Yeah, going to need context for that." Kyoji said, confused.

"Ash was killed by two of the most powerful psychic-types to exist. When he was brought back, he drew in… residue, you could say, of people. All of his travelling companions might be hanging around him like a cloak," Anabel said, explaining it in the most basic way possible. "Don't be surprised if Iris or Serena start yelling at things that aren't there."

Kyoji officially decided Ash was the weirdest, most awesome travelling partner ever at that moment. Life was never BORING around him.

"Ok, then. As to my question…" Kyoji said, waving his hand around in circles until Anabel sighed.

"I… I think he'd be the perfect boyfriend. I mean, I have no real plans, not yet, so I wouldn't mind being around him." she said before blushing. "I mean, he saved my life twice. And he didn't even ask for anything back. A real knight in shining armor…"

"Or a crown prince." the shinobi joked.

"True. He's just so… giving. He gives and gives and gives." the maiden said. "I think it's time he gets something other than a hug as a reward."

Kyoji counted that as a success. '…Wait a minute…' he thought.

"Twice? If Sabrina was the first time-"

"His Jigglypuff was a Shadow Pokemon: she punched me in the heart with a Thunder Punch." Anabel quickly said.

"…fucking puff balls…" Kyoji muttered, "I _never _trust those things… shadow or no shadow…"

"Jig!" Kyoji slowly turned to see...the damned balloon Pokemon.

"Natu!" He shouted, as Natu's eyes glowed, and the two vanished in a flash.

Anabel looked at Jigglypuff, who looked back sadly. "Jigglypuff…" she said, ashamed.

"You weren't in control. It's not your fault," Anabel said, but Jigglypuff did not look at her with bright eyes.

Only shame and a longing for redemption.

* * *

Kyoji only realized he left Anabel with the thing that nearly killed her AFTER teleporting.

But after a frantic run, he found the puff ball just… ashamed of itself.

Shadow Pokemon _didn't _feel shame. Or regret. Just bloodlust and rage.

So there were two things to consider. One: this wasn't the same puff, but that was unlikely. Two: Ash SOMEHOW purified the little bitch, which was IMPOSSIBLE after the nuking of Agate Village in Orre.

Cipher purged any data on reversing the corruption process and the only natural location was an irradiated shithole thanks to a 5-kiloton nuke.

"…okay," Kyoji sighed, "I… _MAY _have jumped the gun on the teleport…"

*Peck*

"I'm _getting _there!" Jaden countered, before he sighed. "I just… back home, Shadows are… _very _scary things to deal with, I've _seen _what they can do to the few that wander around there… and I'm sorry, because you clearly are no longer a Shadow…"

Jigglypuff just sat down, guilt radiating from her.

Ash just became MORE interesting, both to Kyoji personally AND to his superiors. Purifying Shadow Pokemon… that was a literal godsend.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

* * *

Sabrina was surprised to see Iris ditch the heavy wool shirt for...well, belly dancer would be the first thing to come to mind.

Her top was basically just a bikini, while she had a pair of red shorts that went down to her knees. The greenette just blinked at the very revealing outfit, even as Iris' Gible orbited his trainer with that music playing.

Seriously, HOW was that possible?

The land shark surfaced, then looked at Sabrina with a 'Gib', getting his trainer's attention as she looked at him, then at Sabrina.

For her part, the gym leader shrugged. "That is not an outfit I'd imagine you wearing." she said, Iris just sitting down.

"It's too hot here. I'm too used to Opelucid," the purplette said as Gible looked at her hair, Axew jumping out before Gible began chasing him. "It's never above zero there."

"And that's why you don't like cold?" Sabrina said, making the girl shiver. "I got that impression from Ash: you don't like ice-types."

"I was left outside a lot. My grandpa couldn't keep an eye on me all the time, so people just kept me from getting home until he locked up." the dark-skinned girl replied, remembering those nights in subzero cold. "He didn't believe me sometimes."

Sabrina feared the worst. "Did he…" she trailed off, Iris getting the hint in abject horror.

"NO!" she yelled. "He… Never! He never judged me for anything." Iris brought herself into the fetal position, quietly sobbing. "He only saw me."

Sabrina wasn't blind to her mistake. "I am sorry. You… painted a pretty bad picture of him." she said before something poked its' head out of the pond they were near.

"Dra." said a Dratini as it moved towards them. It wasn't Ash's: that one was still 'playing' with Misty. If one could call 'nearly Wrapping someone into unconsciousness followed by them running away' could be called that.

Iris looked up, Gible and Axew stopping to see the new dragon-type. "Aw, it's so cute." Iris said, reaching for the serpentine dragon.

"Tini!" cried the dragon before biting her hand, drawing blood.

"Ow!" Iris snapped as she reeled back, the dragon glaring at her. "I gave you a compliment and I get bitten for it?!"

"Dra!" retorted the snake before reentering the water.

"What do you think of Ash?" Sabrina said, deciding to test the waters. In the last timeline, Iris slowly fell for Ash, turning from mild annoyance at his overeager attitude to interested by his kind and caring nature to finally falling for him for his willingness to help whoever he could, regardless of who it was. Like Misty, in a way.

Iris looked at Sabrina, giving her a look that showed that she knew what she was trying to pull. She wasn't an idiot. Still, she looked at her hands and sighed.

"Out of everyone I've met, he's the only one not to judge me for the color of my skin. I don't even think he'd care if I told him my maternal grandfather was a Cipher Peon." Iris said, starting to cry at the end. "He just sees… me. Iris Arajar. A person. Not some reminder of some war fought hundreds of years ago."

Gible rubbed against his trainer, trying to make her feel better. He succeeded in making her pet him. "Maybe I could love him. I don't even know how to start a romantic relationship." she muttered.

"Neither do I." Sabrina replied, making Iris look at her. "But maybe we'll learn."

"Do you…?" Iris said, before shaking her head. "No. You said you were Ash's… daughter. Who's older than he is. How does that-"

"LONG story." Sabrina interrupted.

* * *

**Ketchum House, Pallet Town - 1834 hours local time**

* * *

Red and Yellow opened the door to Ash's home, happy to be back after so long. Ash didn't realize how much it changed from the last timeline. The last one was just a 3-bedroom house that was a bit on the small size. Good for a single mother, her only child and the occasional guest.

Here? While still only two stories tall, it was MUCH bigger. The garden in back was covered to protect from the elements and the second floor had six bedrooms. One was Ash's, obviously, another Delia's, and two of them were Yellow's and Red's. Belladonna had her own room as well, but judging from the dust lining the doorframe, she hadn't been there for a while.

"Ok, gotta divvy up the rooms." Red said as he led the group upstairs. "Some of you are going to have to share the guest room. I don't think Bell's gonna mind if anyone uses her bed."

"She doesn't live here anymore." Yellow said morosely.

Red cringed. "Yeah… basically." he said, opening the door, unleashing a cloud of dust, making them all cough. "It's...been a while."

Iris pointed out the problem everyone glossed over. "There's seven of us. Is someone going to have to sleep on that couch downstairs?" she asked.

"The girls can take Belladonna's room." Red said. "Mr Ninja can take the guest room. As for Serena…" he looked at the somewhat nuts girl. "She stays with Ash."

Serena beamed, smiling happily. "Like husband and wi-" she said, turning to Ash...only to find him not there.

* * *

"Pika." '_Did you _have _to run off like that?_' Pikachu asked as Ash was halfway to the ranch long before Red took the girls upstairs.

"I knew what he was planning LONG before we even got to the house." Ash said, putting as much distance between him and the house as possible. "I am _not _sharing a bed with any of them."

Pikachu sighed. "Pikapi." '_Ash, you'll have to deal with this eventually. Running away will solve nothing,_' his starter said as they saw the windmill attached to the lab on the hilltop. "Pi." '_What happens when Cyrus is stopped? You keep avoiding it?_'

"I'll deal with it AFTER Cyrus is stopped." Ash stressed, stopping to look at his yellow starter. "I can't juggle dating with Pokemon battles, travelling and trying to stop a madman from killing everyone and thing in the universe again!"

That sounded like skewed priorities to Pikachu. Ash was more then ready to befriend them again, but romance, as always, was off the table.

Ash climbed the hill, Dratini sleeping near the lab itself while Bulbasaur cracked an eye open to see him, then closed them again and went back to sleep.

"Pikapi." '_I'm just worried, Ash. You'll burn out at this rate,_' the electric mouse said, Ash patting him on the head gently.

"I know. I… appreciate the thought, but… I don't want to be him." Ash said as he came to a stop. "I want to be better." He looked at the stars, wondering what lay beyond. "Just...better."

* * *

**Pernon Group Viridian Branch building - 2138 hours local time**

* * *

The Pernon group had a small number of small office buildings in Kanto's cities, no one willing or able to put up anything more fancy then the city gym.

This was a global attitude: even Kalos' Lumiose Tower, a national landmark that could be seen for miles, was not immune, having been converted into a gym during the rise of the International Pokemon League some two centuries prior.

And humble Viridian's gym was large, but plain.

As such, the Pernon facilities in the same city also had to be plain, and were also fairly small… at first glance.

Kyril had larger facilities connected to the 'city offices'… because he embraced something very few people did (aside from the Teams, but even they weren't as prolific as he was):

He was willing to build _down_.

The head of the company entered an elevator, going down to the basement level before he exited, his workers barely noticing him as he went for the other elevator, hidden cleverly behind a blank wall, taking him down another hundred meters.

Most buildings had a basement, so he had to be careful how to dispose of the dirt, getting the construction materials in without being noticed. It was not easy and took a VERY long time.

But it was worth it as he entered the base, filled with equipment and automated repair units for his armor, Rin waiting for him in the situation room deep within the base.

At its core, the situation room was a hidden control room, displaying the locations of known hotspots in Kanto and the Servi Islands. And all of them showed something odd.

A dam near Celedon had a Pidgeot delivering a message about a Diglett colony. A Noctowl gave a letter to Duplica, a Ditto user about how to make a Ditto look more like the Pokemon it was copying. The Eeveelution Brothers, a trio of brothers, complained about a Pidgeot delivering a small book with descriptions of the other Eeveelutions to their baby brother.

On and on it went. Warnings, bits of advice, little things that all added up.

"Ash Ketchum's been a busy boy," Rin said as she compiled all the reports. "Whenever he's in a fixed place for more than a day, he sends those birds to different locations throughout the region, always with a message and always with a result."

"And there's no signs he's ever met the people he's sending these messages to before?" Kyril asked.

Rin shook her head. "None. Which is the strangest bit of all."

Kyril frowned. "You're understating things, Rin. This goes beyond strange and into the bizarre. It's like Ketchum somehow knows them, without having met them. The only way something like that would make sense is if he were a time-traveler."

"On the subject of time travel, gravitic sensors throughout Kanto, Johto and Sinnoh have picked up distortions." his assistant/girlfriend said, pulling up maps and notes on anomalies. "We're seeing locations where something is warping around like mad, leaving traces where it travelled through time. And there's only one Pokemon we know of other than Lord Dialga that does the time travel thing."

"Celebi." Kyril said, knowing the Time Travel Pokemon did not do things without a reason or for kicks. It wasn't a Mew.

"Exactly. We even have a report from Platinum Berlitz-" Rin said, preparing for the outburst.

"Oh, Arceus, not Johanna's elder daughter." Kyril muttered.

"Yup. She claimed that the Celebi belonged to a trainer… named Ash Ketchum," said his assistant, causing Kyril to facedesk.

Well, if he wanted a simple life, he wouldn't be doing this shit.

"Definitely gonna need to talk to the kid," he muttered. "Need to figure out what it is he's doing and why."

Rin looked at him. "Have you READ some of these reports?" she asked before shaking her head. "Of course not, too busy picturing me in some skimpy lingerie." He stared at her in shock before she looked back. "Never said it was a bad thing. Anyway, his Pokemon killed an entire Rocket attack force after one of those idiots SHOT him. His Pikachu has the highest supposed killcount at 19! They can and WILL kill you if you come out as even a _vague _threat!"

Kyril nodded. Ketchum's Pokemon showed a massive amount of loyalty for Pokemon he just caught. …Suddenly, the time travel theory had more ground and just from that, he was getting a headache.

"Point. Where's he going next?" he asked, Rin looking through Ash's file to try and figure out where he'd go to get another badge.

"He kicked Blaine's ass and destroyed his gym, per the old man's request. And if the profile we have on him is even remotely accurate, his next conquest is Giovanni." answered Rin. "Of course, he could always go to that fairy-type gym near Viridian Forest. He's surprised us before. For all we know he's got some machiavellian plan to make us all worship the Vorlon god Boogee."

"...Is that something I should-"

"If you don't get the reference, don't ask." she said, going back to the paperwork.

* * *

**Oak Ranch - 0948 hours local time - Day 80**

* * *

Approaching the ranch was considered suicide past nine in the morning, for that was when the combat began.

Ash's Pokemon only rested when they were knocked out. Unhealthy, perhaps, but when Chansey said 'no', they stayed out for a few days before beginning the cycle once more. Their motivation was clear: save the world from devastation.

Rocket motto or not, that was their end goal, for that's what Cyrus did last time. Bulbasaur and Pikachu wanted them at Hoennic levels at minimum: if they couldn't be as good as they were in Hoenn before Ash went to Johto, they were doing something wrong.

Janine watched as they fought, Grotle resisting the urge to jump and run, but instead stand and fight like a Torterra. It appeared he was getting the idea. In legend, it was said Sinnoh sat upon the back of a giant Torterra that, when it moved, it shook everything. Of course, this was nonsense: a Torterra could never get that big and it was proven five centuries ago that Sinnoh was fixed to the sea floor.

The point was, when Torterra moved in battle, it was only when it could not simply brush an attack aside. Grotle had much to learn of this.

Her eyes turned to Ash, who was showing his brother the ins and outs of basic Pokemon care. He was no breeder, for their role was not simply to ensure Pokemon bred, but were well-cared for, but he was trained by one. And her eye recognized the hand of Brock Slate.

Ash Ketchum was no mere trainer. She knew this from the start. But after being informed of all the things he had done… He deserved the title.

Blaine called him a Pokemon Master, which Ash denied he was worthy of. Janine disagreed: six years of wandering the world, saving it from threat after threat after threat… he WAS a true master. League victories mattered little: after he defeated the Battle Frontier, he could have won any League. But it appears Cyrus was as petty as he was stupid. No man, no matter how intelligent, could stare into the abyss and have it stare back without it affecting him. He was driven mad, leaving the two creation dragons to kill their sibling and destroy the previous timeline.

And his petty, pointless revenge was to spite Ash until the dragons finally lost it and killed everyone. The Lily of the Valley Conference and this Tobias person, Unova in general, the ridiculousness that was Alain…

Ash had suffered. Continued to suffer. Cyrus would pay for this transgression.

But they needed to be ready. Her own Pokemon trained in the shadows, waiting for the moment Ash gave the word to end the lives of Team Galactic's ranking personnel.

Misty and Anabel had asked 'why wait?' Her answer was simple: they were not powerful enough to contend with Team Galactic's forces. Improvement took time.

One of them refused to wait.

* * *

Grovyle was crazy, Charizard had decided. Less then a month into being a Grovyle, he wanted to evolve again. Even Charizard, obsessed as he was with being a Charizard once more, knew it took training, conditioning and most importantly _time _to evolve. He trained as often as possible to get ready for that day, which came when he needed to save Ash.

He refused to look back on the last time he evolved into Charizard with any form of pride.

The grass-type, on the other hand, was willingly challenging every flying, poison, and fire-type at the ranch, to the point where he was fainting from exhaustion. Even that weird Poipole thing Ash caught was forced into it until Charizard took him away from the fighting and told him to find his place in the world.

The only one of them that he hadn't challenged… was Charizard. This was on purpose: he forced himself to fight Oak's Dragonite instead of his fellow starter whenever the dragon showed his face.

Now he didn't have a choice, as the Grove Pokemon approached him. And this was Charizard's off-day, enforced by Bulbasaur - type advantage or not, power or not, NO ONE fucked with Bulbasaur - and Chansey. Bayleef was optional: disobeying her was painful.

"Gro." '_It's time for us to fight, Charizard,_' Grovyle stated, Charizard lazily looking at him. "Vyle-vyle." '_You're the push I need to get back to normal._'

"Char." '_Grovyle, today's rest day for me. I'm not pissing off Bulbasaur or Chansey. It's not worth it,_' Charizard replied, unconsciously adopting the same pose he used whenever he ignored Ash prior to that damned Poliwrath freezing him.

(He made a note to ask Monferno how to learn to read and write: he needed to send that trainer and his fighting frog a thank-you note for making him see reason. Arceus, he hated the way he behaved back then)

"Vyle." '_Screw Bulbasaur._' Grovyle snapped. "Grov!" '_You're back to the way you used to be! Back to normal, to the powerhouse you were before we were sent back!_'

Charizard opened his right eye to look at him. "Char?" '_Are you blaming Ash for this?_' he half-asked, all-threatened. Since he came back, Charizard held himself to high standards for loyalty. He fucked up last time: he would not do so again and sure as shit wasn't going to let ANYONE pull the same thing he did.

Grovyle seemed to get the message. "Grovyle." '_Of course not: anyone with a brain blames Cyrus. But I HATE not feeling like myself._' he stressed. "Vy." '_Male Treecko either stay Treecko or evolve to Sceptile: females only go to Grovyle. I didn't evolve until coming to Kanto because I had no reason until that Meganium bewitched me. Now? There is a war coming and I need to be at FULL POWER!_'

Charizard understood that, even as Grovyle's fellow grass-types, sans Bulbasaur, were fighting Froakie someways away, making sure not to get within a hundred meters. (Another Bulba Rule)

"Char." '_I know. I don't blame you. But it took time. You don't want to force this. I evolved too early and still suffer for it._' Charizard said, his wings aching. To save Ash, he risked his health. But that was a small price to pay. And the conditioning he would be doing tomorrow would help get him to Charizard standards.

Grovyle sighed and turned away. "Grovyle." '_Perhaps you're right. But you'll lose your mate if you keep this up._' he said, Charizard snapping his eyes open.

'_EXCUSE ME?!_' he roared, getting to his feet as his blood ran hot.

Unknown to him, Grovyle smirked.

"Grovyle." '_You heard me. You'll lose your mate if you start lazing about. Maybe that Blaziken-_'

Charizard saw red and breathed out dragonfire, attempting to burn Grovyle alive.

Grovyle was right: fuck bulbasaur. This grass-type needed to BURN and BURN he would.

Grovyle ducked and rolled under the hasty Dragonbreath, grinning. "Grov." '_Come on, Charizard. Shut me up._' he mocked.

Charizard roared as he charged, unthinking of the consequences.

* * *

Bulbasaur saw the fire and sighed. "Bulba." '_Just ONCE, Charizard. ONCE,_' he muttered as he and Chansey made their way over to Charizard's patch of field where he was sunning prior to this.

Minutes later, they saw Charizard and Grovyle locked in battle.

"CHAR!" '_TAKE THAT BACK, YOU OVERGROWN GECKO!_' Charizard screamed as he used Metal Claw on Grovyle, the seeming masochist simply grinning.

"Gro!" '_Make me! Maybe your mate will-_' Grovyle never finished as Charizard bit on Grovyle's neck, crushing his windpipe.

Bulbasaur scowled. Charizard was hot-blooded, but he could keep his temper. Insult Ash or his mate Charla and he was in a blind frenzy. Grovyle knew this. _Everyone _did.

…Which was why he did it. Charizard and Pikachu were two of Ash's most powerful Pokemon. And Pikachu was off training with Quilava and Phanpy, so he wasn't going to be zapping Grovyle into a coma.

Instead, Charizard was going to kill him if he wasn't careful, as Grovyle used Leaf Storm to buffet Charizard in the face to get him to let go, dropping him to the ground as Charizard belched fire to burn the leaves.

"Bulba!" '_Grovyle, what the fuck were you THINKING?!_' Bulbasaur demanded before Charizard used Fire Blast, the kanji-shaped attacks flying at the archosaurian grass-type as he dodged, narrowly each time, returning fire with Bullet Seed.

Charizard roared in pain and rage as his innate ability, Blaze, activated. This was why he was on a rest day and set for conditioning after that, damn it!

"Gro!" '_Come on, Charizard, surely some weak winged lizard can do better!_' he mocked before Charizard gathered what would be his death in his jaws, an orb of flaming energy forming in his mouth.

Grovyle realized he pushed the wrong button as he realized this was Blast Burn. And not the normal match-ending kind: the 'you die' kind.

"CHAR!" '_DIE!_' Charizard screamed as he fired the fire-type Hyper Beam at Grovyle, superheated plasma arcing from his jaws, heading for Grovyle.

Another beam of less-intense energy slammed into the Blast Burn, defusing it somewhat before it hit the Grove Pokemon, but not enough for it to not outright kill him.

Charizard snarled, ready to attack whatever interfered before seeing an exhausted Pidgeot slowly falling to ground, Noctowl and Staravia beating their wings to get there to see if she was alright before a water sphere slammed into Charizard's side, forcing him to the ground before he was bound by vines from bound both Bayleef, who had stopped engaging Froakie, and Bulbasaur.

"Bulba." '_I am _not _happy with you, Charizard._' Bulbasaur snapped. "Saur." '_I can tell you were goaded into doing that, but using BLAST BURN of all moves? You could have killed Grovyle if Pidgeot hadn't used Hyper Beam to weaken it!_'

Charizard snarled before his combat haze faded and his rage went away. "Char…" '_I… Sweet Arceus, what have I done?_' he groaned, guilt settling in.

"Tile." '_You helped,_' said a surprising voice as all of them looked at the source, finding a giant archosaur with a tail that could only be called a flexible pine tree limping towards them. "Sceptile." '_Just… needed that big push to evolve._' The newly-evolved Sceptile slumped on the ground. "Scep…" '_Everything HURTS…_'

"Bulbasaur." '_You are an idiot. Good thing you're OUR idiot or I'd leave you to rot,_' Bulbasaur spat as he and Bayleef let Charizard free and Chansey looked them over for any injuries caused by the stupidity of both of Ash's powerhouses.

"Bay." '_Neither of you are getting out of this unpunished,_' Bayleef said as Charizard nodded, understanding he screwed up, accepting his penance.

"Bulba." '_Sceptile goaded him into it by insulting him and his mate. The pain is punishment enough,_' the Bulb Pokemon said before looking at Charizard. "Bulbasaur." '_As for Charizard… he's lucky Sceptile evolved while he was getting plastered with superheated plasma. He's on enforced rest for the next week. He'll endure the boredom as punishment. He's getting off lightly only because Sceptile is alive._'

Charizard nodded. "Char?" '_So… do I just find a rock and sit on it?_' he asked, looking at his wardens.

"Bay." '_No flying,_' Bayleef ordered, Charizard getting up to begin his march.

"Bulba." '_Ash is going to Viridian in two weeks: his brother and sister want to spend time with him, so he's waiting,_' the ambassador said, making Charizard look back at him. '_He told me you're going along with him to face Giovanni. You can work on your flying the day after tomorrow. No moves of any kind._'

"Char." '_I wasn't planning on it,_' Charizard said before marching off to find some rock in the middle of nowhere to reflect on his actions.

Sceptile groaned, the Kanto and Johto starters glaring at him. "Bay." '_Don't you start. You got what you wanted. And now you're on rest period for the next week,_' she said, vines wrapping around Sceptile and dragging him away, Chansey sighing before following.

Bulbasaur sighed before heading towards where Ash was last. "Bulba." '_This is going to be a pain to explain to Ash…_' he muttered.

* * *

**30 minutes later**

* * *

If Sceptile wasn't in extreme pain and Charizard not feeling guilty over his actions, Ash would be SCREAMING at them for doing something so STUPID.

"Pikachu." '_Well, you know them. Both have their pride, both were very powerful Pokemon back in the old timeline and…_' Pikachu trailed off, even as Red and Yellow watched Bayleef and Chansey do a checkup on Sceptile, finding a who's-who of injuries all related to overexertion.

"That excuses nothing, Pikachu. Charizard nearly killed Sceptile. If he didn't have that evolution...shield around himself, I'd be looking at a dead Grovyle." Ash said, annoyed at both of his powerhouse starters. Froakie was taking his time and Ash didn't care about evolution anymore: if he did, he did and Ash would congratulate him, but he would not force it on them.

Who did he look like? Paul?

"Pika." '_Everyone's trying to get back to normal. They want to be ready to face that asshole in Sinnoh,_' Pikachu said, seeing Monferno run off with a set of books. "Pipipi." '_They see what you need to do and want to be ready._'

Ash let out a breath. "I just don't want them to kill themselves doing it." he muttered as something pink floated into the lab, making Ash pale in horror.

If that thing drew on their faces, he was not-

"Jig-gly-puff~" sang the puffball, using Sing to force Sceptile into taking a nap. Chansey wore earmuffs that the professor had left out.

"Damn… that… move…" THUD!

Needless to say, Ash and everyone within earshot of the lab was out like a light, Jigglypuff, for once, not drawing on their faces.

"Puff." '_If I knew I was using the move, I wouldnt've drawn on your faces,_' the fairy-type groused, wanting to find a way to allow them to hear her song without falling asleep.

* * *

Well out of earshot, Riolu was honing his skills. While he knew how to use Aura Sphere, it was not a normal move for a Riolu to learn.

So he had to earn that power. But the only way he could evolve was to bond with Ash, to share aura for weeks, months even. Ash had the largest reserves of any human any Lucario had ever encountered: in a month, Riolu could be a Lucario!

But Ash did not bring him along all that often. He had to beg to go with the Chosen One every time, to try and boost his spirits and remind him that he was not just to save the world, but to live in it.

Heracross nursed his bruised thorax as Primeape used every punching, jabbing and kicking move he knew to hit Riolu, who just kept dodging. Evasion practice was just as good and valuable as punching practice, after all, Riolu continuing to think on the situation.

Pikachu and the others had mentioned that Ash knew him in another timeline. Riolu didn't put much stock in it, but Ash never considered himself to be Riolu's trainer. He never even thought of catching him: Riolu had to steal the ball to go with the Chosen One.

Riolu had to force the situation. He'd sneak along in Iris' hair: it wasn't like she would notice the extra weight in her hair. Or convince her to take his ball along with her.

The blue and black jackal then used Force Palm on Primeape, shoving him into a rock. The pig-monkey, however, was less fragile then Heracross.

Heracross had potential. Too lazy at the moment, but he had potential.

Riolu just had to beat the laziness out of him. That was another goal he would do, as he looked at Heracross, who got the message that he was going to go through hell. It was for his own good, though.

Ash needed him focused and ready for battle, not looking for his daily dose of Bulba Brew, as it was jokingly called by some.

All Heracross did was weep.

* * *

Entry 41: Charizard mating rituals

The courting process of Charizard is a terrifying experience for any bystander not of the Charizard evolutionary line, involving large amounts of fire and deep clawing wounds.

First, the male states his intentions, challenging any and all suitors for his chosen mate, then fends off any male that accepts the challenge. While these confrontations are bloody and brutal, very rarely are they lethal, for this serves as a teaching experience for the loser.

Next, the male must endure combat from his intended mate, to prove he is worthy of her. Only after being victorious is he allowed to claim her.

Charizard mate for life, both parents raising the Charmander they sire until they are old enough to fend for themselves or are taken - with consent - by a regional professor as starters.

The most prolific Charizard colony is the Charific Valley in Johto, which is also the only known location to learn Blast Burn for Charizard. Any idiot attempting to steal from the valley (Yes, Patel, this means you) will be left to die at the claws of the Charizard in question.

* * *

Entry 42: Delia Sakai-Ketchum

Born in AS22, Delia Sakai was the younger sister of Giovanni, heir to Team Rocket. In AS 37, she began training as a Team Rocket Admin, but dropped out, joining Samual Oak in his quest to reunify Kanto. A year later, she traveled to Unova where-(File corrupted) Plasma.

In AS40, she became the youngest, most dangerous member of the Kanto Elite Four, never suffering a defeat until the birth of her first child, Belladonna, where she went on reserve, retiring with the birth of her first son, Ash, with her student Lorelei 'Prima' Kanna taking her place on the Elite Four, having two further children, Red, a boy and Yellow, her youngest daughter shortly before-(corrupted file)

Despite her retirement, Delia maintains her high standards of training, her Pokemon in a far, deserted corner of the Oak Ranch to avoid them accidentally killing anything. She is far more dangerous then the Boss: AVOID HER AT ALL COSTS.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: We have made it BLINDINGLY CLEAR Delia is more dangerous then she ever was in the series, but SOME PEOPLE (Rocket grunts all flinch away) don't get the FUCKING MESSAGE!**

**Takeshi Yamato: WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO, GIVE HER A FRAKKING LEGENDARY OR SOMETHING?! (Pauses to consider) You know-**

**Ron the True Fan: DON'T GIVE ME ANY IDEAS! We ALREADY have her terrifying enough with (900 Mhz bleeps because talking about spoilers en masse)**

**Shantae: (Pushing the button) This is fun!**

**117Jorn: Okay guys, I'm trying to figure out how to invest in ISK on EVE and… *looks at Shantae* …who the heck are you?**

**Shantae: Shantae's my name! Protector of Sequin Land from all sorts of threats. Mostly a pirate named Risty Boots.**

**Ron the True Fan: You don't want to know why she has that name, trust me. Besides, it could be worse. Could be Rottytops. (mutters something about weird-ass zombies that need coffee more then brains)**

**Shantae: They still eat brains. She's after mine. Now, where's that flamethrower of yours…**

**Takeshi Yamato: Here, take this. (Hands Shantae a Star Wars Battlefront 2 Flametrooper weapon)**

**Shantae: Thanks! (runs off)**

**Ron the True Fan: Suffer not the undead to live. (hears screaming) Even if the undead are protagonists.**

**117Jorn: ...yeah. I'm going back to New Eden… **

**Ja Ne!**


	28. Chapter 27: Sakai vs Ketchum

**Ron the True Fan: Nothing like burning zombie to start the day. (Rottytops screams as she runs on fire, fleeing from a VERY vengeful Shantae as the StringStorm version of Run Run Rottytops plays) Even if aforementioned zombie has main character status and JUST WON'T DIE.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Hmm… she took well to that flame rifle… might need to see if she can use other Star Wars weapons…**

**Ron the True Fan: It's **_**fire**_**. Fire **_**works**_**. I'd know. Which of us has played **_**Resident Evil Remake**_**? I sure as hell know **_**you **_**haven't.**

**Yeah, I contend myself with YouTube vids, and those not even all that often. (Watches **_**RE3 Remake **_**Final Battle) Dat railgun…**

**Ron the True Fan: I made a run of that day one and that thing should have broken her legs AT MINIMUM. (Looks to the readers) Enjoy the fic.**

* * *

**Pallet Town Ketchum Residence - 0706 hours local time - Day 92 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

The last two weeks had been somewhat productive, Ash mused as he planned his match against Giovanni. In short: no mercy.

He would not spare the son of a bitch an inch, packing the most powerful Pokemon he had for this. Pidgeot was in: she didn't like Team Rocket and much like almost everyone else, she wanted payback for the last round at Indigo. Gible (or Gib-chomp, as Kyoji nicknamed him) wanted payback for all the hell they put Ash through. Ash allowed him to give him a headbite in exchange for letting the more anxious to evolve Sliggoo go instead. He was getting closer: then again, he trained as relentlessly as Charizard normally did.

Speaking of Charizard… despite his stupid fight with Grovyle, now Sceptile, he was still in. He was back to the way he used to be, at least as far as Indigo went, especially after all those days he spent in conditioning. At least, Charizard claimed he was: Ash remembered that embarrassment when Charizard refused to listen and the referees (probably paid off by Team Rocket) didn't bother rescheduling the match in account of the TRio stealing Pikachu in the middle of the match, which should have raised a warning flag or fifty.

Bayleef wanted payback as well, expressing a desire to make Giovanni pay personally. Totodile made it clear that he was coming along as well.

"Had enough of avoiding us?" Ash froze as he heard Misty's voice from behind him, her tone sounding like she was not happy as he turned around, finding her, Anabel, Serena, Iris, Janine, Sabrina and Kyoji approaching him from behind.

"You are INVENTIVE," Kyoji said, shaking his head. "Janine couldn't find you. I couldn't find you in that Ranch. Pissed everyone off, too."

Ash chuckled nervously, Serena looking like a scorned lover. "Well, I didn't want Serena doing anything to me in my sleep." he said, making her give him a look of indignation.

"I wouldn't've done anything like that!" she cried before pouting and looking away. "We're not married yet."

"Well, your happy yell when Red showed you your rooms made me pick the safer option." Ash said, cringing a bit. Serena hung her head, realizing Ash had a point and a reason to be worried. "Anyways, sorry."

"Just don't do it again," Misty snapped. "Besides, she needs to get used to you being there."

Ash felt guilty for that. Creepy or not, Misty had a point.

"Can I at least hope to not have anything weird happen while I sleep?" Ash asked, Serena sighing.

"I swear on the Duchy of Vanille that I will leave you unspoiled until the day we are wed." she said, putting her hand over her heart. "Part of me wants to… but it would drive you away if I did."

"Ok, heartwarming but creepy moment over," Kyoji said, changing the subject. "Viridian City?"

"If you even think of singing that Arceus-forsaken song, I swear we _will _hit you." Anabel said, rubbing her left temple. "I don't care if it fits the situation."

Kyoji tilted his head in confusion. "What song?" he asked.

"The one where someone's singing about going to Viridian." Misty said. "Pop music from that time was _grating_."

"…I don't think I've heard that one?" Kyoji questioned. "Remember, I'm not exactly from around here… if it's a modern song, I probably haven't even heard it yet, I haven't exactly been poking through for tunes…"

Ash rubbed the back of his head, slowly backing away to the road before getting his head glomped.

"RIolu!" '_No one expects the adorable inquisition!_' said the adorable Emination Pokemon. Ash had a feeling he wasn't going to be leaving him behind this time.

* * *

There were no Spearow this time, the flock being either dead or gone thanks to Pikachu almost three months earlier, so they kept up a slow, relaxed pace to the city in question.

"Kanto's pretty tiny." Kyoji said, looking at a map of the region. "Not much bigger than home."

"Johto's bigger," Ash said, remembering that it took nine months to get around the region, not including the times they got lost. This time, he was NOT getting lost.

"I think I lost count of how many times we got lost back then." Misty said, looking skyward, making sure there were no insane flying-types trying to kill them. "I mean… What's the proper term for that? We haven't done it… but we have… and…"

Ash looked over his shoulder, back at Misty, understanding her confusion. "Celebi told me a while back that human languages and time travel don't mix." he said. "…Actually, it was back in Viridian Forest. She's been visiting a lot."

Kyoji looked at Ash in disbelief. "For THREE MONTHS." he said. "On and off."

Ash put his hands behind his head, looking upward. "More or less."

* * *

Jessie and James, hiding in a tree, watched as the shinobi had to process this with more fanboyism.

"Please don't use the rhyme. I mean, we're together, but… we're not doing it." James begged as he looked skyward.

Well, you're not kissing at the moment. And Jessie kicked her double in the face when she claimed your blue haired ass.

"Well, thanks for confirming it for the readers." Jessie groused before the pokeball containing Wobbuffet opened.

"Wobbuffet!" cried the punching bag as the tree branch began to creak ominously.

"You just hate us." Meowth said as the branch started snapping.

Can't kill you, but we CAN make you suffer.

"Aw, Fu-" Jessie said before they fell out of the tree.

* * *

**Viridian Gym - 0958 hours local time**

* * *

"Can one of you please hang onto Riolu?" Ash asked, the jackal still attached to his head.

Iris looked at him questioningly. "Why? Riolu's not hurting you, is he?" she asked, reaching out and petting the Emanation Pokemon, making him eyesmile.

"No, but even if I'm going to be beating the living crap out of that asshole, I want to follow the rules while I do it. And I have six Pokemon on me." Ash said. "Riolu isn't fighting yet," That made the blue and black Pokemon smile: there was a 'yet'.

"Dad, you're allowed to have more then seven Pokemon on your person at once. You can only have six Pokemon in an active battle." Sabrina said, making Riolu beam. "Even if Riolu's not fighting, he can be with you."

Ash blinked. He forgot Sabrina knew the rules. "Alright." he said before looking at Riolu. "You're not fighting here. Maybe at the League."

"Ri!" '_I can wait. I have nothing personal against this Giovanni person anyways_.' Riolu replied before Ash opened the doors to the building, the simple dirt and rock field being the only thing visible in the gym, the lights being off.

"This guy rolls out the welcome wagon." Kyoji muttered sarcastically before the lights kicked in, momentarily blinding them.

"Welcome to the Viridian City Gym!" cried a happy woman, making Ash's eyes widen as they adjusted to the light.

Standing below Giovanni's little balcony was his mother, Delia Ketchum, dressed in a very similar outfit to his own, his elder sister sitting in the stands, snoring.

"Mom?!" Ash cried, Kyoji looking to Ash, then at Delia. "THAT'S your mom?" the shinobi asked. "She doesn't look a day over 20!"

"Aw, thank you young man," Delia smiled, "And you're…?"

"Oh, umm… Kyoji Akamura, Ma'am," He bowed respectfully, "I've… been traveling with your son and his friends for about a month now… he's a hell of a trainer, you know..."

"I did teach him everything he knows." She shrugged, "But it runs in the family, you see." Delia said cheerfully.

As everyone gawked at Delia standing next to Geovanni… Kyoji simply sighed "Well, I certainly hope someone picked up that phone…" he muttered.

"Huh?" Iris asked, "What do you-"

"Because I, fucking, CALLED IT!"

"This doesn't prove anything," Ash hissed, before he looked up. "Mom… why are you here?"

"Oh, I'm here to make sure everything's nice and legal. No cheating from either of you and all that." Delia said, cheer fading as fast as it came. "After all, my brother has MUCH he needs to pay for…"

"...Aaaand like that, your reasoning for ending your father's legacy has up and died," Kyoji exclaimed. "Hallelujah, holy shit!"

"You're awfully gloaty today," Sabrina mused.

"I've been acting as this guy's wingman for about a _month _now," Kyoji deadpanned, "Dealing with his asinine excuses for _not _engaging in a relationship with a literal _harem _of women who love him! _Let me have this, please!_"

"Pardon?" Delia asked, raising her brow at that.

"…wait, you didn't know?" Kyoji asked, "You're son's got it in his head that Giovanni was your husband, _his _father, and he was refusing to date any woman because he flat-out refused to continue Giovanni's bloodline."

Delia blanched. "One, that's disgusting." she said.

"His words, not mine," Kyoji stated.

"I wasn't finished, dear." she said, an edge creeping into her voice.

"Sorry ma'am," Kyoji took a step back, bowing his head.

She nodded in acceptance. "That being said, I CAN understand where he got it. I mean, I don't show it all that much, but the temper's a family curse." Delia said. "That and he and his father both have the same shade of black Giovanni has."

Ash gave up on the 'Giovanni=dad' theory. He was man enough to admit he was wrong. "Ok. That's still not good enough. I'm not being an absent dad." he said.

Delia sighed. "I was hoping never to tell you what happened. I WAS content to let you think your father just left." she said, walking to the pokeball painted on the gym floor. "But you clearly need the truth. It can wait a bit longer, though." she looked at Giovanni, sitting on his little throne. "Is the gym leader ready?"

Her elder brother, Ash's uncle - and wasn't THAT a joy to consider - sighed as he pet his Persian. "I am ready, little sister." Giovanni said.

Delia looked at Ash and his group. "Everyone that is not the challenger, clear the field immediately." she ordered, Kyoji vacating faster than everyone else. She was SCARY.

They all got onto the stands, climbing up to the seats, Misty poking Belladonna in the shoulder.

"FUCKING PLASMA FUCK!" she screamed before looking at Misty in confusion. "…Daisy?"

Misty's eye twitched. Belladonna shook her head, focusing her eyes. "Wait, your hair's shorter." she muttered. "You related to her?"

"My name, you-" Misty ground out before Sabrina put her hand on her shoulder.

"Hello, Aunt Belladonna." she said, guiding Misty to sit down as Delia stood in front of the stands.

* * *

Giovanni looked down at Ash from above. The look in his eyes… Giovanni was not facing a boy, nor a teenager.

He was facing a man in a child's body, filled with rage and hate towards him and all he led.

"I believe my sister has made it clear that you are my _nephew_, _not_ my son," Giovanni said as he withdrew a Pokeball. "But that will not make me take it easy on you."

Ash glared at him. "I don't expect you to do _anything _but throw everything you have at me." he said. "And when I destroy everything you send at me, I will finish off your _fucking _organization. You are _everything _that is wrong in this world and I _will _see you BURN for it."

Giovanni actually took aback at Ash's statement. Proton and Archer did a number on him, it seemed. But that only made him more impressed. Enough to actually take this seriously from the start as he stood up.

"You wish to destroy me?" Giovanni said, amused. "To rain ruin onto Team Rocket? To make all I've worked for to naught but ash?" He grinned. "Then prove your worth, grandson of Madam Boss!" with that, he tossed out a Pokeball, unleashing a Pokemon he used to confuse opponents.

It was also a gift from his sister-in-law. Ariana proved her loyalty in so many ways.

"Honch!" cried the Big Boss Pokemon as he landed, glaring at Ash.

For his part, Ash did not look impressed, withdrawing a Pokeball. "Go, Pidgeot!" he called, sending out one of the emblems of the kingdom he inherited from his father's side. Giovanni knew damn well it wasn't from his mother's, otherwise he'd be the King of Rota. He touched that damn staff himself.

And once the bird materialized, she locked eyes on Giovanni.

"…Pidge." said the raptor, absolutely PISSED at seeing him.

She knew him. She knew who he was. And for her, this was personal.

"Dark Pulse!" Giovanni ordered, using power against Ash's own flyer as Honchkrow spat out white-lined dark-type energy, almost akin to Hyper Beam.

"Hyper Beam, then Aerial Ace and Steel Wing!" Ash ordered, Pidgeot charging a ball of plasma in her beak, somewhat slower then normal for a Hyper Beam, then firing into the dark pulse, the two attacks colliding, fusing and exploding.

Giovanni hmmed. Hyper Beam drained a Pokemon of their stamina, which they recovered swiftly, but while they were down, they were open to attack. "Dark Pul-"

The smoke then cleared from Honchkrow's left, Pidgeot's wings a steel-glow before slamming into the Big Boss Pokemon's skull, breaking the avian bones on contact.

"How?! That's impossible!" the leader demanded before the evolved form of Murkrow hit the floor, coughing as his beak was dislocated, spitting out blood as Pidgeot landed, nearly collapsing on herself, but only merely exhausted.

Giovanni had to admit. That was new. Pidgeot's slower charge up was her readying Aerial Ace to follow up immediately, Steel Wing forming in the middle of the attack, using speed and steel to break his Pokemon's skull. Not enough to kill, but enough to disable.

Enough time to allow Pidgeot to recover as Honchkrow snapped his beak back into place.

"Well played." he admitted. "_Very_ well played, nephew."

"I don't care for your approval, _Giovanni_," Ash replied venomously. "I only care about one thing: _breaking you_."

Giovanni felt familial pride in someone that wasn't his son for the first time in nearly eight years. That Sakai rage was alive and _well _in the boy.

"You have yet to finish the job." Giovanni goaded. "Air Slash!"

"Dodge with Aerial Ace!" Ash commanded as Pidgeot sped away from the pressurized air, then beat her wings for her own Air Slash, slamming into the grounded dark/flying-type.

This was more like a veteran trainer than a three-month newcomer. How the hell was he doing it?

* * *

"He… is mad." Iris said quietly as Pidgeot and Ash used what looked like pure hate as one, coordinating the downfall of this hat-wearing bird.

"It's personal for them," Misty said, looking at the grudge match. "This is revenge that's long overdue."

"He's also probably venting over how frustrated he is that we were right," Kyoji shrugged, "Hopefully once this is over, he'll chill out a bit more…"

"This has nothing to do with him being wrong," Sabrina said, pointing at the roof. "Those three idiots have been after him for almost seven years for dad. On Giovanni's orders. Every kidnapping attempt, every attack on him and his traveling companions and all the nonsense those three did to him is all on Giovanni's shoulders."

"…Three idiots?"

Misty looked at Kyoji in confusion before nodding, as if coming up with an answer. "Right, you haven't met them. Jessie, James and a talking Meowth." she explained. "They've been trying to steal Pikachu since pretty much forever."

"…why?" Kyoji asked, "I mean… Pikachu's cute and all, but… it's not like they're super rare. Isn't TR's modem operandi to capture very rare Pokemon, like Lucario, Lugia, Ho-oh, Darkrai, Entei… you know, big names that get recognition?" He then blinked, "Wait, a talking MEOWTH?!"

"Yes, a talking Meowth. He never got the story as to why he could do that," Misty said. "It's because Pikachu blew them out of the Viridian City Pokemon Center. Cue six years of them constantly stalking him."

"…wait, if a Meowth could talk…" Kyoji looked to his Gible. "…could Gible talk too?"

"We would have to know how Meowth learned to talk and I am not looking into the minds of those morons." Sabrina said, putting her hand down. "They give me a headache just being on the roof." Then Sabrina looked where her hand was resting.

On Kyoji's.

She blushed and looked away, pulling her hand away from his. "I'm not looking in their heads." she said.

"Didn't ask." Kyoji said quickly, his own face bright red. '_You made a promise to Arceus. You made a promise to Arceus._' He kept repeating in his head - trying to omit thoughts of Sabrina. '_Help Ash, help Ash, help Ash._'

* * *

Pidgeot was much faster then Honchkrow. The bigger, fluffier bird was deadly, but that bulk slowed him down. Murkrow were scared of him.

Pidgeot, on the other hand, was too pissed to really give a damn as she slammed another Steel Wing into the big bird's head, cracking it just below the orbit.

"That's enough." Delia called, giving Giovanni an excuse to return Honchkrow before Pidgeot decided to aim for soft tissue instead of a hard skull. "I don't entirely approve of how Pidgeot ended that, but round one goes to my son."

"Pidgeot!" '_Was there any doubt?_' Ash's giant raptor said before jumping back in front of her trainer.

Normally, Ash would agree with his mother. That kind of injury wasn't his thing. But he had to break Giovanni. If that meant beating the living shit out of his Pokemon, so be it.

It would not be their proudest moment, but anything to get his uncle, bastard that he was, off his back.

"Ruthless, practical, efficient. You may not have the name, but you are Sakai to the _core_." Giovanni said, intending it to be a compliment, but to Ash, it was an insult. "You will go far, indeed. But you will not gain victory in one battle!" Giovanni then tossed out another ball, unleashing a blue, bipedal horned Pokemon much taller than Pidgeot, covered in armor plate.

Ash stared down the Nidoqueen, then looked at Pidgeot. "Want to tag out?" he asked, knowing she was tired and needed to recover.

"Geot." '_No. I'm good to go,_' she replied, taking back to the air, hovering in place.

"Hyper Beam." Giovanni ordered, Nidoqueen charging the attack.

"Do the same, Pidgeot!" Ash countered, Pidgeot not bothering to do it slowly to use another attack afterward, charging the plasma ball as quickly as possible to match Nidoqueen's attack.

Both released their beams of plasma at the same time, meeting just forward of the center of the field, a miniature sun briefly forming before the lack of mass forced it to implode, then explode, making Pidgeot be pushed back from the explosive force, psychic screens barely holding the force back from hitting the watchers in the stands and the battling trainers.

That being said, while Pidgeot was roughly 320 kilos, Nidoqueen weighed just over one metric ton. She was blown back, while the Regal Pokemon recovered from the hyper beam much faster, charging at Pidgeot.

"Thunder Punch." Giovanni ordered, Nidoqueen emerging from the cloud of sun-smoke with an electrfied fist.

"Air Slash!" Ash ordered, Pidgeot wondering why before just doing it,beating her wings to strike back, the thick plating of the Nidoqueen preventing any real damage until she realized something.

Ash knew she wasn't going to win this one, but she could make the next Pokemon's life easier if she hurt the one-ton bitch before she went down. No matter what, Giovanni was NOT winning this.

She could live with that, even as the punch slammed into her head,sending her slamming into the psychic screens, breaking them before she slammed into the front wall. Ash left the designated challanger's box to check on her, to see if she was worse then just unconscious.

Delia gave Giovanni a look to keep his mouth shut from where she was standing: being worried and checking if they were alright did not mean 'void match'.

Ash returned her after seeing she was merely knocked out, returning to his place on the painted challanger's box on the field. Nidoqueen huffed, mocking him.

Ash's response was simple. "Go!" he called, unleashing the dragon snail of Kalos.

* * *

**Outside the Gym**

* * *

"Are you actually sure he's in there this time?" Kyril asked Rin as they approached the toughest gym in Kanto.

"I installed a camera over the door. He's in there." Rin replied as something exploded inside. "…We're not going in there."

"…Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyeah, we'll just stay out here," Kyril replied. "Depending on how things go, this might be Cinnabar all over again."

"He caused a miniature eruption with that Seismic Toss stunt! Granted, it went out to sea and Blaine reported that it would have hit the island, but still!" she said, shuddering at the idea that Ash unintentionally made Cinnabar BIGGER with that stunt.

They were _not _going in there.

* * *

Inside, Sliggoo faced the massive poison/ground-type. Ash knew he couldn't see, but that wasn't the point as the Soft Tissue Pokemon glared at the Drill Pokemon, preparing for combat.

"A gift from my future daughter-in-law, I presume?" Delia asked, making Serena cheer happily at being acknowledged as such.

"Sliggoo." '_She _really _needs to have her head checked,_' the snail said before focusing on the fight.

"Deal with the snail. Ice Punch." Giovanni ordered.

"Rain Dance!" Ash countered, a rain cloud forming over Sliggoo as the armored poison-type hit Sliggoo, frost forming on his soft skin which vanished with the rain, right before Sliggoo acted of his own accord, using Dragon Pulse to force Nidoqueen back, the same-type attack bonus boosting the amount of pushing power the attack had, acting like a fire hose pushing someone back.

"Get back up! Use Ice Beam on that damn snail!" Giovanni ordered, clearly pissed off about that happening.

"Hit her again with Dragon Pulse, then Ice Beam!" Ash cried, Sliggoo spewing out the beam of dragonic energy, not pushing back this time, but to force Nidoqueen to flinch.

He got half his wish: she hit the wall just below Giovanni's little balcony. That left her open for the Ice Beam to hit, freezing her in place.

"Got anything I don't know up your sleeve, Sliggoo?" Ash asked, Sliggoo smirking.

"Sli?" '_Do I?_' he said, before the gym grew colder, snow forming in the gym. "Slig!" '_Taste the snow, bitch!_'

All dragons had the power to influence the weather. Some had to be taught. Some had to learn the power from within.

Sliggoo learned from a snowstorm. Its' gift was teaching him how to do Blizzard, which, while not as powerful as one used by an ice-type, it was enough to take Nidoqueen out of the fight, freezing her into a small block of ice.

"I don't think I need to say it." Delia said, Giovanni returning the frozen Pokemon to her ball.

"Your Pokemon have been training well, it seems." Giovanni said, swallowing his pride. Ash's Pokemon were on par with Brock's 5-badge team, with Ash making up the difference with his cunning mind. Eventually, they would match Delia's and a hell of a lot sooner than Giovanni would like: two years, maybe three if they kept up this pace. And there was no doubt they wouldn't.

Ash still had to save the world from Cyrus, after all.

"But you have not earned the Earth Badge _yet_." the Rocket Boss said, withdrawing another simple Pokeball. "And now you will learn the might of the earth itself!" he threw it, the energy going under the ground before surfacing.

"Dug, Dug, Dug." '_Ok, boys, let's kick whatever the hell's-what in the name of Arceus is _that _thing?_' said a Kantoan Dugtrio, looking at Sliggoo in confusion.

"Sli." '_For that, I'm kicking your triplicate asses._' Sliggoo growled.

"Earthquake!" yelled Giovanni as Dugtrio went underground, the ground beginning to shake under their feet.

Ash hadn't seen Earthquake in use since Hoenn. After that, it just… vanished. Same with Fissure.

Regardless, he knew there was no dodging it. Conventionally. "Use Dragon Pulse on the ground!" he said, Sliggoo giving him a curious look before obeying, the force actually propelling him upward somewhat as the ground began to fracture, rock fragments going everywhere, hitting reapplied psy-shields, hitting everything above-ground.

Sliggoo didn't get out of the attack untouched, but the scratches he had gotten from small rocks hitting him was nothing compared to what would have happened if he was completely on the ground.

There was a problem: Dugtrio was still underground as Sliggoo landed on his… foot.

"Fissure!" Giovanni barked, the ground shaking before a crack formed in the ground, heading towards him.

"Sli-" '_Son of a helixian-_' Sliggoo said before the attack hit him, followed by curses so fowl, they did not warrant repeating in the tongues of men, Pokemon, elves or dwarves. (WHACK!)

"Dug." '_Not a water-type, not a weird grass-type…_' one of the dugtrio heads said as Sliggoo renewed the Rain Dance, restoring his health.

"Sli." '_Fucking DIE,_' said the now VERY annoyed Sligoo before belching out an Ice Beam, hitting the right forward head, freezing it solid. This freaked the hell out of the other two, leaving them vulnerable to another, longer Ice Beam, sweeping over the other two heads.

"Remind me not to piss off the snail," Giovanni snarked as he returned the triple Diglett to his ball. "If it's not my sister's, it's her son's."

Ash and Sliggoo both looked at Delia. "I have a Goodra." she said simply. Ash decided not to question it as Giovanni withdrew an Ultra Ball. The new ball choice did not sit well with him.

"Where I differ from you is how I treat my Pokemon," he said. "Most of the time, I could care less about their emotional state, only that they can fight. I only truly care for two of them. One is my starter." the Persian sitting beside him puffed out its' chest in pride. "The other… is this." he tossed the ball, releasing a Pokemon that was not very… Giovanni.

It was, in fact, two Pokemon: one massive, with a pouch on its' chest. The other, smaller, in the pouch.

"KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNN!" roared the Kangaskhan upon materializing.

"Ok. Just putting this out." Ash said, looking at the Paterental Pokemon. "That is _not_ a Pokemon I think of when I think of you."

Giovanni grinned. That was a bad thing. "There's a reason." he said, revealing a cufflink on his right arm, with a small, rainbow-colored gem.

Ash's eyes widened in horror before seeing a stone on the Kangaskhan's tail, right as Giovanni pressed the stone. Both glowed, the normal-type roaring as power was shared between trainer and Pokemon, quickly allowing her pouchling to jump out, ready for battle.

That… was new. Usually, there was energy going from the Key Stone to the Mega Stone. Now? Quick and to the battle at hand.

"Ice Punch, both of you! I want that Dragon out of commission!" Giovanni ordered, Sliggoo intensifying the Rain Dance to counteract it.

Sadly, Mega Evolution was not overcome so easily, with first the child, then the parent, slamming their steaming fists into Sliggoo, his watery insides starting to freeze up, forcing Ash to act, recalling Sliggoo from the field.

Ash glowered at Giovanni until he glanced to the stands. Serena was waving at him, reminding him of better days.

It drove a point home: he would not become Giovanni. He would not let anger be his defining emotion.

He quickly drew another Pokeball. "I choose you, Bayleef!" Ash called, sending out the Leaf Pokemon, who saw what she was facing, then stared it down.

"Bay!" '_come and get me!_' she called, stomping with her forelimbs.

"A grass-type? Nephew, you disappoint me." Giovanni mocked. "Mega Kangaskhan will make short work of that thing."

"That's what you think." Ash said before putting his mind to work. "Body Slam and Sweet Scent!" Bayleef, showing total confidence in Ash, charged at the parent, emitting a honey-sweet smell that distracted the child, allowing Bayleef to slam into the larger normal-type, knocking her to the ground. It was only then that the younger of the two noticed, rushing at Bayleef.

"Countershield!" Ash yelled, Bayleef using Razor Leaf to form a dome around herself, the younger Mega Pokemon slamming into the sharpened leaves, instinctually keeping away, even if he could get through them.

"They are leaves! Burn them!" Giovanni ordered, the older Kangaskhan using Flamethrower, torching the grass-type with flame, Bayleef flinching and backing away, the Razor Leaf Countershield fading away as she was forced to jump, allowing the smaller one to jump on her back, throwing a tantrum with repeated uses of Pound.

Bayleef grabbed the small Kangaskhan with her vines and threw him at his mother, knocking them down, giving her some breathing room.

But while she had been training, she had spent more time as the family medic then fighting. Her stamina had suffered for it and she began charging up Solar Beam while the two were down.

"Get up!" Giovanni ordered, the two stunned Pokemon realizing what happened, then getting up for battle. Only to find Bayleef fully charged and preparing to fire as they got to their feet, meeting concentrated solar energy as soon as they got up, the heat of the sun slamming into their hides as the moderate aura of the two Megas faded, returning them to normal.

Bayleef grinned before falling over, exhausted but satisfied. She won.

"A tie. With a Pokemon that wasn't fully-trained for fighting a Mega Evolution?" Giovanni chuckled at the result. "Underestimating you was a mistake. It will not be repeated."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Ash retorted, returning Bayleef as Giovanni did the mother and child Pokemon. "Go ahead, _uncle_. Send out your next Pokemon. I'm ready."

The Rocket Boss tossed out another Pokeball, unleashing the opposite of Nidoqueen, the royal purple Nidoking, who roared at Ash.

Ash nodded at that, before glancing at Pikachu. "You want this one?" He asked.

Pikachu grinned. "Pikachu!" '_Let me at 'im!_' He bolted forward - jumping up and landing on the arena.

Giovanni outright laughed at this. "Nidoking has been specifically trained to deal with Shadow Pokemon. Your Pikachu will not be exiting this place alive." he said. "Team Rocket has a law about those: if you can kill a Shadow, kill it. If you can't, retreat."

That explained why Jessie and James ran off from the PMC three months ago.

"This is a League match, brother~" Delia sing-songed. "If you kill Pikachu, not only do I make your life hell, Ash gets his badge AND one of your Pokemon as compensation. Perhaps Nidoking will do."

Aforementioned male Drill Pokemon glanced at Delia in mild horror, like he couldn't live without Giovanni commanding him. What did Giovanni DO to this guy?

"Try not to use any Shadow moves, Ash." Giovanni said, Ash glancing up at him. "I know you love your self-imposed challenges, but this is one of mine. If he uses Shadow Bolt, I reserve the right to call the round."

Ash looked to his mother, as if to as if that was a thing. "He's got the right. Most of the time, a condition isn't imposed, but it does happen." Delia said. "I hope Pikachu can control himself."

"Pikapi." '_If it means I have to avoid one-hitting this oversized Nidoran, sure,_' Ash's starter said, readying himself for battle.

"I accept the conditions. Let's do this, Pikachu!" cried Ash, before Pikachu sparked, ready to fight. He wasn't the Destroyer of Rockets for nothing.

"Fissure!" Giovanni snapped.

"Tail jump and use Thunderbolt!" Ash said, Pikachu getting airborne before the ground cracked, Pikachu using the Thunderbolt not on Nidoking, but to give him more air time, the bolt creating a mild magnetic 'bubble' that Pikachu used as a way to dodge the Fissure, 'bouncing' over the attack.

Needless to say, Giovanni was not happy. Nor was Nidoking, as he used Drill Run without orders, rushing at Pikachu.

"Pika." '_Try harder._' Pikachu mocked as he used Quick Attack to sidestep the attack, Nidoking slamming into one of the psychic barriers, cracking it, but not destroying it.

"Stop trying to hit that damned rodent and HIT the damn rodent!" Giovanni spat. "Earthquake!"

"Iron Tail! Aim for the horn!" Ash said, making Giovanni look at him.

"That won't do anything!" the Boss cried in annoyance before Pikachu lept, tail shining with steel before slapping the horn. As expected, it didn't do much.

Except allow Pikachu to latch onto Nidoking's head, swinging and repeatedly hitting the Drill Pokemon in the head. Nidoking reached for him, but Pikachu was too small and the poison-type's arms too bulky to bend in the ways needed to get Pikachu off him, even if he wasn't constantly moving and smacking him with Iron Tail.

The only thing keeping Nidoking from falling was the thick armor covering his head, but that wouldn't last forever as Nidoking thrashed about, Pikachu dodging attempted grab after attempted grab.

But while Pikachu was doing damage, it was not enough to knock the ground-type out. Fortunately, Nidoking made a mistake, slamming into a psychic barrier.

This forced Pikachu to jump off, Nidoking staggering before Pikachu charged Iron Tail once more.

And combined with Quick Attack.

It worked with Onix. It would work here. And as Nidoking turned, raw speed translated into kinetic force, steel cracking bone as Nidoking's armor finally failed, sending the Drill Pokemon to the ground with a concussion.

That in no way made this easy: Pikachu was out of breath and hurting all over. "Pika." '_Remind me… to join the conditioning sessions when we get home,_' Pikachu said as he slowly made his way back to Ash.

Giovanni was annoyed. Ash did not feel guilty. "You are beginning to test my patience. Few, if any, challengers use only one Pokemon to defeat my own party." the boss said as he drew one last ultra ball. "This one, however, will end your winning streak." with that, Giovanni opened it, unleashing a Pokemon more dangerous than Nidoking.

"PER!" roared a massive Pokemon Ash was only somewhat familiar with: Rhyperior.

This was very much a Giovanni Pokemon.

Well, only one way to deal with this one, as he picked up Pikachu and pulled out a newer Pokeball.

"I choose you, Charizard!" Ash yelled, sending out the Flame Pokemon, with a very.. .special surprise clipped onto his tail, hidden by his flame.

"Charizard? Are you doing this just to screw with me, boy?!" Giovanni yelled incredulously, before Ash withdrew something from his pocket.

"I don't like it. I never saw the point in getting my hands on one," he said before his expression turned from musing to serious as he looked at Giovanni. "But honestly? I'm not going to bother complaining." the object in his hands glowed, a glow then emanating from Charizard's tail.

Giovanni's face turned from angry to somewhat horrified as Charizard began glowing, his arms growing winglets and gaining a central horn.

Ash knew that while he had both Charizardites… the X one reminded him too much of Alain. Besides, Mega Charizard Y was more of a challenge for them both.

Kyoji looked at Ash's mom "Do I have permission to play Charizard's theme song?" He asked.

"Char?" '_Wait, I have a theme song?_' Charizard blinked.

"…play it first," Delia said.

Kyoji grinned as he pulled out a speaker out of his bag, connected it… and hit the play button.

**BGM: "Through the Fire and the Flames" by Dragonforce**

As the electric guitars blared, Charizard felt a surge of energy in him - and as his body morphed into that of Charizard Y, as the guitars and drums pounded… Charizard let loose a feral grin. "Chari-ZARD." '_Fuck. YES!_'

"Proceed," Delia winked at Kyoji, "May the final fight BEGIN!"

"Charizard, Dragon Tail!"

"Rhyperior, Megahorn!"

The two Pokemon charged at one another, as Charizard's tail swung forward - and Rhyperior rushed in with its horn as the two clashed - the impact sending shockwaves across the stadium as an explosion erupted between them.

"Charizard, Dragon Breath!" Ash ordered, as Charizard unleashed a breath of draconic energy right into Rhyperior's face - the force of the impact sending him sliding backwards, digging into the dirt of the arena.

"Rhyperior, use Stone Edge!" Giovanni called out, as Rhyperior roared as he charged back towards Charizard, slamming into the earth as it rumbled.

"Dodge!" Ash shouted, as Charizard leaped into the air - narrowly avoiding being caught in a burst of sharp jagged stones shooting out of the earth.

"Keep firing until you hit something!" Giovanni yelled, stone shards continuing to fire off, but half the reason for them picking Charizardite Y was because Y was faster. And Charizard spent five days practicing with his new body.

"Char!" '_You suck! Try harder!_' Charizard said before closing in, winglets turning to steel. It wasn't exactly the right place, but Metal Claw was Metal Claw.

And Rhyperior's face still took a hit from the sideswiping Charizard did, even if Solid Rock prevented him from getting knocked out of the fight. Charizard was fine with that. It was a fair fight.

"Rock Blast!" Giovanni ordered, Rhyperior raising his arm-cannons to fire at Charizard, massive rocks rocketing out.

Charizard had seen worse from Pikachu. Dodging rocks was nothing compared to dodging literal lightning bolts, especially with Sliggoo using Rain Dance to make it more accurate.

Rhypereior did not appreciate this distinction and just got angrier, firing more and more.

"Char!" '_You know what, I'm getting fucking tired of dodging._' Charizard said before taking in a deep breath, wisps of plasma forming in his mouth. "ZAR!" '_EAT PLASMA, ASSHOLE!_' With that, Charizard stopped, firing a flaming beam of plasma into Rhyperior.

Type-effect-wise, it would do very little to hurt him: he was a rock/ground-type.

Psychologically, it would make him flinch.

Physiologically, it triggered nerve receptors in his skin. In other words, it didn't injure him, but it still hurt like hell. And not even Giovanni could remove pain receptors.

And that was all he needed. Other than Ash giving the word.

He SO wanted Ash to give the word.

Ash growled, as he looked up… and noticed a hole in the roof. "Charizard!" He shouted, "Focus Punch and Seismic toss!"

Charizard blinked, before glancing up… and if looks could kill, the grin on Charizard's face was down-right _lethal_. The pseudo-Dragon darted towards the Rhyperior, and delivered a focus punch right into its chest - sending him flying into the air… but Charizard didn't stop. He hit him again… and again… and _again _as the large Rock/Ground Pokemon was sent higher, and higher, and higher into the air with each punch.

Everyone watched as they went up higher and higher, almost to a point that they couldn't even be seen. A look of realization however came to Kyoji, as his eyes widened. "Hey, uh… Sabrina?"

"Yes?"

"…I'm not an expert at math and science…" He began, "But judging from how high they're going… and combine that with a Seismic toss… what are the odds of Rhyperior and Charizard coming down faster than terminal velocity? Because that…" he pulled out a set of binoculars as he looked upwards. "…if I didn't know any better, it looks like they're going all the way to the Kármán line…"

Fun fact: the Kármán line is the literal edge of the atmosphere: 80 to 100 kilometers above the surface, depending on who you ask. For consistency, the Kármán line here is the higher number.

"Charizard was thinking about taking him as high as he could go… and Mega Charizard can survive at that height for… hours…" Sabrina trailed off. "I think we need to get the hell out of here. Where's Ash's Natu?"

"Read my mind!" Kyoji nodded, as he popped out his own Natu as well.

"Natu." The Natu said, before it glanced up, and its two eyes widened. "…Natu…"

"Yeah, we need to GTFO please!" Kyoji said urgently. "Initialize emergency evacuation plan Natu-Twelve!"

"NATU!" cried the bird, even as everyone looked at him weirdly before they Natu-ported out.

* * *

"Seriously, we should stay out of there." Rin said.

"There are psychics putting up barriers, Rin. We're going to be just fine-" Kyril said before a Rhyperior flew out of the roof, which slowly fell before a Mega Charizard - the rarely used Y, at that, seriously, everyone was OBSESSED with the X subtype - flew out and continued punching the stunned Drill Pokemon, going higher… and higher… and _higher…_

Rin pulled out a pair of binocs, paling as they slowly got out of range. "Uh… they're 20 kilometers up. And climbing." she said. "Quick… ly… Oh, shit."

"What?" her boss/boyfriend asked as she lowered the visual aid.

"He's going higher and higher. And those things regularly go to the Kármán line when Mega Evolved." she said.

"What the hell is the-"

"The edge of the _freaking atmosphere_: one hundred kilometers!" she said before dragging him away as fast as she could.

When Rhyperior fell from that height, they reentered at _Mach 5.8_. Someone measured it before the Cipher War.

It wouldn't KILL the poor bastard… but he was not getting out of the ER ANY time soon.

* * *

Charizard punched Rhyperior again, feeling the air grow thinner.

Perfect.

Rhyperior flailed, obviously scared out of his mind. Charizard was about to make that fear valid, as he grabbed onto the giant rock-type.

"Char!" '_Welcome to pain, asshole. Your trainer's got a lot to learn about FUCKING WITH MY BROTHER!_' Charizard yelled before beginning the spin that would end this once and for all.

Charizard used Seismic Toss.

Rhyperior fired rocks, the small boulders burning up as they reentered thicker air. Charizard just cackled as they began to go faster, reaching terminal velocity in less than a minute, but Charizard forced it to go faster with a well-applied use of Blast Burn to act as an engine to increase their speed.

Plasma thrust was not to be screwed with.

The gym soon reentered his line of sight. Charizard had zero intention of going with Rhyperior, so it was a very good thing Seismic Toss wasn't just tossing someone into the ground. The normal version was like a wrestling move. Charizard, when he wanted something hurt that wasn't him, used the version where he allowed all the fighting-type energy to bleed into the victim.

And so he let go at about 15000 feet, Rhyperior falling at Mach 3.4 as he made a fly-by of Viridian, reaching Pallet in a matter of minutes as he burned off the excess energy.

He only heard the explosion when he turned back. He was pretty sure he destroyed the gym.

It was super effective.

* * *

The world shook. His eyes opened as the liquid surrounding him fell away, rocks and things like rock falling towards him.

He stopped them with a raised hand, even as the building collapsed around him.

He… was alone. Where were they? His sister, his brothers… where was Amber?

He reached out, looking for them.

There was no sign of them. Where…?

His psychic senses detected nothing. Nothing but greed, a desire to dominate… and something that he instinctively avoided.

Humans. Stupid, greedy humans. They created him. Made him… to be their tool…

They would get nothing but pain in return as he teleported out of the ruins.

Humans were not worthy of this world. And he, Mewtwo, would cleanse it.

* * *

To say the gym was gone would be an understatement.

The building, the area surrounding the building, everything within 250 meters was gone.

Kyril just looked on in shock, from where he and Rin had run to after first seeing Charizard fly up with Rhyperior. That… that was NOT something you see every day.

"Well… that's going to leave a mark." Rin said, understatement radiating from her words. That caused a small earthquake.

Few would notice it: Kanto was prone to minor earthquakes thanks to Cinnabar.

Footfalls from running feet got their attention, both turning to see Ash Ketchum, a riolu hanging from his neck, a Natu on his head and his Pikachu sitting on his shoulder, a rather large group of young women hot on his heels.

"…Is the league going to make me pay for this?" he asked, even as the last remaining wall collapsed into the ruin.

"Doubt it: Lance said something about Giovanni's gym needing remodeling anyways when I last ran at Indigo." said one of the girls, with frizzy black hair tied into a ponytail. The birthmarks on her face matched Ash's, so that made her Belladonna Ketchum.

Finally. He spent two weeks waiting for this brat.

"Hey," Kyril said, waving. "You know, you're a hard man to find, Ash Ketchum."

Ash looked at the man in the suit, immediately glaring at him. "Who are you and how do you know my name?" he demanded, Riolu jumping to the ground, paws ready to strike.

"…Yeah, could have said that better." Kyril said, straightening his tie. "Kyril Pernon. I think you've heard of me."

"No, I haven't." Ash answered, making him blanch.

How did he not know who he was?! He was the head of the largest industrial conglomerate on the planet since the Cipher War!

"Wait, you own the _Olympic_, right?" said a redhead in what could be said was a very… revealing pair of shorts and a tanktop. So much so that Rin had to glare at him to get the point across not to stare.

"…And about fifty other liners, cargo ships and more…" Kyril said, somewhat annoyed that Ash didn't know his name.

"Ok, not that this is important and all… why were you looking for me?" Ash asked.

"Because, Mr. Ketchum, I remember the name of someone who saves one of my ships," Kyril replied. "You are a very interesting young man. That said, given all that seems to happen around you on what seems an almost daily basis, you're also quite the enigma."

Ash shrugged, a feat not easily done with the four-kilo Pikachu on his shoulder. "I thought that was just normal." he said, as if he didn't care.

"...Normal?" asked a purple-haired girl in a more...tight version of his own suit. "NORMAL?! You MINDWIPED Sabrina, got shot, had a pokeball melted onto your hand and this is NORMAL?!"

Ash just shrugged again, Kyril processing this.

He spent three months fighting Team Rocket and getting into the strangest shit the corporate head knew of… and this was NORMAL?

"I should be more annoyed." said a man older then Kyril, dust covering his own fancy suit with a Shelder under his arm. "You destroyed my damn gym."

Giovanni Sakai. He should count himself so lucky that he didn't bring his other suit given that he was all but confirmed to be the Rocket Boss. Then again, the last time he tried to kill a major criminal, he distracted the ones that nearly finished her off. Hunter J was still out there, still active.

"Oh, brother…" said a somewhat-older looking woman with brown hair and eyes, making Giovanni look at her in a mix of terror and curiosity. "Just so you know, you deserved it. And Ash saved you a great deal of money in destroying the gym: cheaper just to build a new one."

So this was the infamous Delia Sakai-Ketchum, undefeated Elite Four and the most terrifying person that wasn't an official champion.

Kyril suddenly started wondering if his mother was going to kill him before Giovanni flicked something at Ash.

"That's the last badge I am ever handing out," Giovanni said in something of a tired growl. "I'm retiring from the Gym Leader business, and if Team Rocket ever forms up again, I'm going to be FAR from them. I'm _**done**_ with all this shit."

And there went Kyril's hopes at killing Giovanni. A retired gym leader was harder to kill than an active mafia oyabun. It hurt his already-negative press.

"Do try to avoid another Shadow Legendary, nephew!" Giovanni called as he walked away. "And try not to die like your father did."

Ash blinked before holding his head, Kyril noticing blood dripping from his nose.

"And for the love of the Creator and his children, get laid already!" the man yelled for the last time before leaving his line of sight.

"HA! Even Giovanni says to-"

"Do _not_ finish that sentence, Kyoji." Ash said darkly. "Do _not_."

The only other black-haired man looked at Ash. "Seriously? You really need-"

"I need to process the fact Giovanni just told me my father is DEAD and I still have a very big gap in my head." Ash said, interrupting him.

"So you could say… there's a hole in your mind?" 'Kyoji' asked with a smirk.

Ash just fixed him a look.

Pernon sighed. Ketchum wasn't someone with a world-ending agenda. He was just insanely unlucky. He had nothing to fear. With that figured out, he motioned to Rin just to leave.

It wasn't like Ash was going to start a war.

* * *

**Viridian Pokemon Center - 1227 hours local time**

* * *

"Pika." '_It has been a LONG time,_' Pikachu said as they entered the Pokemon Center, the local Joy almost jumping in fear at seeing Ash and his mother.

"Don't worry, dear: once my son has his Pokemon in your care, I'll be going back to Pallet," his mother said before approaching Ash and giving him a hug. "I'll see you back at home, Ash. I need to check on your brother and sister, anyways: they bribed Xatu to teleport them home."

"Natu?" '_Your mother has a Xatu? I guess you were destined to get me._' his Natu said before Delia rubbed her head, making her coo.

"I'll see you later, Ash," Belladonna said before giving Sabrina a weird look and leaving with her mother.

Ash sighed and approached the counter, with the less-terrified Nurse Joy almost saying the usual line. "Nurse Joy, I promise I'm not going to blow another hole in the roof," Ash said. "Mind giving my team a check-up before I head back home?"

The pinkette nodded furiously, Ash supplying her with the Pokeballs and Pikachu jumping off his shoulder before Kyoji grabbed his shoulder.

"Mind if we talk in private?" he asked.

Ash sighed, knowing where this was likely going to go as he nodded. "We'll be right back!" Kyoji called back, as he lightly dragged Ash away into an isolated room of the center.

When the door closed, Kyoji took a deep breath. "So… you know what I'm probably gonna bring up," he began, "So… do you wanna go first, or shall I?"

"Look, I get it," Ash sighed, "You're trying to hook me up - but I'm just not interested. Yes, Giovanni isn't my dad… and yes, I'm glad that's not the case, but there are still _reasons _why I can't get into a relationship with any of them! I can't-"

_SLAM._

Ash jumped slightly as Kyoji punched the wall… very, _very _hard. His back was still turned away from him. "…I respect you a lot, Ash… the shit you've done and all…" he muttered. "…but you're a selfish piece of shit, you know?"

The trainer visibly recoiled at that declaration. "Excuse me?"

"…remember back… when I was talking about how Yakuza in Ransei worked?" He spoke up, "Wonder how I knew how they worked? My family… they used to be part of one of the big Yakuza families, basically helped run their shady deals, covered for them… the Akamura family were the go-to dirt dealers… we were liars, cheaters, thieves… whatever the Yakuza wanted us to be… so naturally, no one fucking trusted us."

"So… when you try to _leave _the family… it doesn't really go so well," He continued, "Having that same damn family name weighs you down in life… everyone thinks you're nothing but a piece of shit liar, thieve… _murderer _even. You get blamed for all the troubles in the neighborhood just because of your damn bloodline… "

Ash was silent, listening to Kyoji - the Ranseian's fist clenching. "You try to make friends… but the don't trust you," he went on, "Oh, they _act _like they do, but the moment trouble comes up, they backstab you, throw you under the bus, or worse... even break your fucking heart, and shred it into confetti…"

"And then… you do something, something… _amazing_," He chuckled, "You actually help take down your corrupt, worthless family that everyone compares you to, get them arrested… some even getting killed… burn all your bridges with the family, just to prove to everyone that you're _not _the bad guy they think you are… and you know what? ...it didn't… _fucking. Matter._ Because they _still _looked at you as a piece of shit… only now, they think you don't even care about _family bonds._"

"So… here I am… a guy no one trusts, everyone ignores or avoids like the goddamn plague… and then, you get that chance to join the Imperial Air Force, leave the past behind… so that's what I did, took what little I had, my Pokemon - the only people that have _ever _trusted me, and enlisted… eventually got recruited for a long-distance recon & scouting mission… but, heh, then again, maybe they just wanted to get rid of me?"

"I land… and I find a young man, about… my age, who literally _everyone _trusts, that they have complete, and unconditional love for this person." He looked back at Ash, "So much that they'd walk to hell and back for him ...and he turns them all away, thinking 'oh, I don't want to spread my bloodline' or 'Oh, I don't want to bother with traveling with a family' or whatever fucking reason you try to tell yourself at night… and oh yeah, he can talk to Pokemon to! Something _I _always wanted since I could talk!"

He let out a harsh laugh "When… when you told me all that shit you've been through in the past… I fucking laughed later, ya know?" He shook his head. "You… have _everything _I ever wanted… recognition, love, poke-talk abilities… its like Arceus is trying to mock me or something, for all my failed attempts to gain some fucking trust. But, you failed to acknowledge it, so I thought: 'You know? Maybe this is my calling - to help this guy get with his girls, to succeed where I was apparently doomed to fail. Promise to Arceus that you'd be this man's fucking wingman! Even giving up my own dream of having that kind of relationship with _anyone_, with Arceus as my witness, just to help this guy'. Even though she's _clearly _been testing my resolve lately."

His eyes then narrowed, and his gaze hardened. "And now I realize… it might've been for nothing, because… you're just a selfish piece of shit," he growled. "Oh, you keep telling yourself you're doing it for 'them'. But they clearly don't want it! All you do is think for yourself, think about how _you _feel about about this, how _you _feel about their feelings! What about _their _feelings, huh?! How do you think it feels to have someone you love to the deepest core of their heart, constantly shove you out?! And for what? 'Oh, I don't want to travel with a big family' or 'Oh, my father might have been a gangster, so I don't wanna continue his legacy.' That's as fucking selfish as you can get, Ketchum!"

"Now hold-" Ash began to say, but Kyoji wasn't done yet.

"Your friends - and hell, sometimes even your _enemies _help you save the world like, what? Ten times? Eleven? More in your past life?" He ranted, "Oh, they could've turned tail and run, nothing was stopping them, but no! They stayed right beside you to the very end, because you didn't just earn their respect, you earned their _love_! And all you do to thank them is brush off their feelings like it was nothing!"

"So I'm just here, wondering, how the fuck _you_ \- this selfish, little brat who has _no idea _what he's been given - being the prince of a fucking dormant superpower, with a harem of women who adore you and all you've done for them - and don't you _fucking dare _call it hero worship - basically becomes the goddamn _chosen one _of Arceus!" He shouted, "And meanwhile, here I am, fighting _tooth and nail _to gain even the _slightest _bit of respect, of trust or a _hint _of love, _desperately _looking for a purpose in life, and barely have jack-all to show for it!"

"Was I even _in _your last universe?" Kyoji suddenly accused, "Was there even a Kyoji Akamura there? Or was I just another fucking nameless face? Another nobody that gets no recognition, no praise, no love, while _you _get to go around the world, being the _fucking Messiah_, treating everyone lucky enough to travel with you like… like the background characters of some kid's show!"

Kyoji just stood there, panting as he glared at Ash - tears coming from his eyes. "Fame… respect… loyalty… love…" he muttered, "...why do you have all the things I _dreamed _of having… and just… throw it all away like it was yesterday's trash? While all I get… is a mission to a far-away land, where the people back home will be more happy to never see my face again?"

"...I made a promise to Arceus," Kyoji said, "To be your goddamn wingman, even if it fucking kills me… and like hell I'm going to break that promise now…" he let out a bitter chuckle. "I mean… it's not like anyone is gonna miss me, here or at home… maybe if I die saving the world like you… people will think I'm a hero for once…"

"...I didn't ask to be sent back." Ash said, his voice low from shock. "I just went with it because it happens to me. I wasn't a prince in the last timeline, my mom wasn't some scary trainer...I was just a normal guy from Pallet Town."

"And what about them, huh? Don't tell me that-"

"I'm not worthy of them, Akamura!" Ash spat. "I have competed in SEVEN leagues and LOST six of them, the only one I won was the Orange Islands and they're not even official. The first three? Indigo, I got screwed over by Team Rocket stealing Pikachu and all my Pokemon were too tired to fight. Charizard didn't listen to me back then, so I was disqualified."

"...That is _stupid_." Kyoji said. "Clear interference from a bunch of criminals should've gotten you a redo for the fight."

"Then Johto. I got curveballed by a Pokemon from Hoenn. _That _was more reasonable." Ash continued. "Hoenn, I handicapped myself with only using Pokemon from Hoenn. I got far, but not the finals. Sinnoh was just BULLSHIT."

"What, handicap yourself there, too?" Kyoji snarked. "Then I got no pity for you."

"Oh no. I decided to _stop _messing around and pulled out my more experienced Pokemon." Ash replied, a mocking smile on his face. "But some _asshole _named _**Tobias **_shows up with a FUCKING DARKRAI and steamrolls his way through."

The look Kyoji gave him said it all. It WAS bullshit, pure and simple. "Legendaries..._don't_...compete in leagues." he said. "That just screws _everyone else _over."

"It took FIVE Pokemon to knock that thing out and what does he do?" Ash said, Kyoji waiting for the answer. "Pulls out a Latios and knocks it and Pikachu out of the fight."

"So that's why you feel unworthy? Because you kept LOSING?" Kyoji said. "Sinnoh aside - because you're right, that is complete and total _bullshit_ \- that is _incredibly _immature. Even I know better then that."

"It isn't that!" Ash said. "I KNOW what's coming this time around. The other times, they were just dropped in out of the blue without a chance to say 'no, we're not getting involved'. I might be Arceus' personal problem solver, but I do NOT want to risk the lives of the people I love."

Kyoji pinched the bridge of his nose. "And if they want to risk it, too?" he asked, making Ash take aback. "That's what I thought."

Ash just sighed. "Is it selfish to just see them safe and happy, even if it breaks my heart to see them with someone else?" he asked. "Is it?"

"You're assuming they _can_ find someone else," Kyoji shook his head. "They love _you_ \- and only you. You've seen some of their mental states - Misty is near catatonic with anyone but you or the other girls, Anabel is paranoid of being hunted by more Psychics like old Sabrina, Janine is sworn to be yours - and _trust me _when I say that rejection or you dying could result in her committing Seppuku in shame, and Serena has a multiple personality disorder - one of which includes a full-blown obsessed _Yandere_ that will likely kill everyone around her, and them herself if you died! I'm just doing everything I can to help them get together with you - because right now, they need you just as much as you need them!"

Ash looked at Kyoji. "And what about Sabrina?" he asked suddenly, making him blush. "I might play the fool a lot, Kyoji, but I'm not as blind as you think."

"First off, she's your adoptive daughter," Kyoji said, "Don't want to make you angry. _Second_ she's psychic and probably disgusted by what goes on in my head. And _third_: I promised to _Arceus_ to help you - I literally exchanged my pursuit of happiness to help in _yours_. Mine wasn't going anywhere - you still have fucking _hope_. And no one in their right mind goes back on a promise they make with Arceus, _who gives them a response_!"

Ash blinked. "I don't know about the response, but Sabrina's a grown woman: she can do whatever she wants." he said blankly before holding his nose. "And I am REALLY sick and tired of this happening. Whatever Celebi did to put my mind in this body, she REALLY needs to work on."

"Stop avoiding the subject." Kyoji said, now thoroughly annoyed. "You need to stop avoiding them. Those two weeks at the ranch? Sure, Serena was a bit creepy, but you need to spend time with them. If only to get Serena somewhat...less crazy. But you can't ignore them."

"I know...but Cyrus-"

"FUCK CYRUS!" Kyoji roared, causing Ash to flinch. "He's a fucking psychopath that already ended the universe _once_, but now we know what he's gonna do, and together we are gonna track his ass down to the ends of the goddamn world if we have too, and kill him before he has a chance to do it again! And you know _for a fact _that no matter what you do or say, those girls are gonna want to be right beside you through it all to help you take him down!"

"They'll be in danger!"

"They're _already _in danger!" Kyoji exclaimed, "Cyrus is trying to _end the universe_, you think you can do this shit on your own?! If you fail because you decided to go in solo, Cyrus wins and everyone dies again anyways! If they stick with you, then your chances of kicking Cyrus's ass increases _dramatically!_ They're not a bunch of snowflakes that will just melt away into nothing at the slightest hint of heat - we live in a world with hyper-lethal creatures that could kill us at any given moment! How could you think so _little _of your own friends?!"

Ash made no reply. He didn't want to coddle them: he wanted them SAFE. And he was a disaster magnet in the last timeline: here, he actually got people and Pokemon killed just being there.

To say nothing of what happened at Mt Moon, the _Olympic_, hell, Sabrina and Silph Co rated high on the list of things he was not proud of happening.

"You _literally _have an army to call upon," Kyoji stated, "Not just all the Pokemon _you _have, but all the Pokemon your friends have, _plus _Sabrina and her Pokemon, _your mom_ \- who could probably get the Elite Four to jump in too - and that's not even _counting _the fact that Rota would probably be _glad _to support you - I _know _you hate the whole 'prince' thing, but that is a resource that you shouldn't just ignore because you don't want to be associated with the title, or worry about 'settling down'. You have all these friends and allies to call upon, willing to work together to put Cyrus down to the dirt once and for all… so why, oh _Arceus WHY_ are you _ignoring it_, when the fate of the goddamn UNIVERSE IS AT STAKE?!"

"Because I've never HAD them!" Ash snapped, finally losing control of his temper. "I had ONE long-term traveling companion! I kept getting others region to region, but I could never call on everyone to stomp a threat into nothing! I had what was ON HAND! I'm USED TO THAT! Having everything at the tips of my fingers isn't what I usually have to work with! And I was ready to make due AGAIN. And with the world how it is…" his rage faded away. "Maybe Shamouti will be more dangerous. Greenfield could get someone that isn't ready killed. I nearly died more times than I actually have and… I don't want to lose them."

"I'd call you selfish… but that's human." Kyoji said, answering. "That doesn't excuse you ignoring them or your own bullshit."

Ash chuckled. "Brock and the others never tried talking me out of it. Five years is… a long time to do something." he said. "Altomare… Arceus, I hate Altomare."

"Hmmm…" Kyoji shook his head. "Look… Whoever this Brock guy is, I'm not them. But I _am _going to do everything in my power to help you… but you need to realize, whether you like it or not… you're not alone here. It's hard to do new things, taking that leap into something new, foreign and unfamiliar… but if there is one certainty in life… like Pokemon themselves… we're all destined to evolve at some point, to change from who we were before. Sure, your Pikachu may not change on the outside… but can you honest tell me that your Pikachu from when you first found him, is the _exact same _as he is today? You can fight it as much as you want, but in the end… it's inevitable that you, your pokemon… all things evolve eventually. It's how we respond to those changes that matters. Because as Darwin made pretty damn clear… those who don't change with evolution, are destined for nothing but death."

"So, Ash… let me ask you this," he leaned forward a bit. "Do you want to fight the change, even if it kills you and irreparable damages those around you? Or… do you want to actually accept it, and change _with _your Pokemon, and your friends… and maybe become a better man in the end?"

Ash wanted to curl up into a ball and die. But he was better than that, or so he thought. "I miss my old timeline." he admitted. "The only problem I had to worry about was Team Rocket. But I can't go home again. It's just hard to change an ingrained habit."

"Yeah, Gible would know all about that. Just…" Kyoji said, wincing. "TRY to not push them away. They love you and-"

Something beeped in Ash's pocket.

"Damn it, that ruined the moment!" exclaimed the Ranseian before Ash pulled out the Pokedex, seeing a new notification before sighing.

"At least I didn't attract anyone in Alola," he said. "One of them would demand my hand for not bringing him along."

* * *

**Pallet Town - Oak Ranch - Roughly 15 minutes earlier**

* * *

Bulbasaur had no idea how it started. It could have been an insult made by that antlion the Sinnoh/Hoenn party brought back. He wouldn't recall it later.

All he knew was he had a Trapinch trying to chew his bulb off. And NO ONE chewed his bulb off.

"Bulba!" GET OFF!" he snapped, Vine Whipping the Trapinch, making him dive into the earth.

He was pissed off. And now the antlion would learn the price of pissing off someone like Bulbasaur. He was slow to anger, but he was pissed off enough to deal with the annoying pseudo-bug, spewing spores, Stun, Sleep and Poison, into the air, making it all but impossible for the bug to surface without breathing them in.

He couldn't fry the little bastard out: Solar Beam was powerful, but the ground could endure worse then anything the sun could put out.

The only move that could take out the bastard was Frenzy Plant. And while he knew the basics, he wasn't a Venusaur.

This made him think back… back to so long go when he went through his 'phase' of trying to _not _evolve for the longest time… but, now that he thought about it, with Gible able to go back-and-forth with Eviolite… what was really stopping him from Evolving anymore to begin with?

"…Bulba." '_Fuck it._'

He was always on the cusp, anyways: back when he met Ash in the old timeline and when Ash caught him again. Melianie deserved to see him bloom. But she wouldn't get the chance.

Meanwhile, Trapinch was digging towards him.

"Inch!" '_Gotcha, bitc_-' THUD! Trapinch didn't learn his lessons on evolution, it seemed, as his jaws clamped tight on a glowing figure. "Traaaaaaaaaa-" '_Aw, fuuuuuuuuc-_'

The glow stopped, then a whip smacked him into a tree, making him doozy for a minute before he was wrapped again.

"Saur." '_So… what do I do with_ you?' asked the newly evolved Ivysaur, his flower having bloomed fully.

"Inch?" '…_not maim me for saying ill of the old man?_' Trapinch suggested, reminding Ivysaur of WHY he was mad.

Oak was an old man on the verge of going senile, but he was still a friend of Ash's family. _No one_ spoke ill of him and went unpunished.

"Ivysaur." '_Why thank you for reminding me. Now how about I do you a favor and get you closer to Flygon?_' Ivysaur 'suggested'.

Trapinch's day went straight to hell after that.

* * *

(Warning: database compromised. All files-asefsdvgeZSrgzxcvsefrzsg48Sdgfeaert3g4s83-

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Well… that was eventful. **

**Takeshi Yamato: Yes, yes it was. And Giovanni has decided 'Fuck this shit, I'm out.' We won't be seeing him again, most like - unless we want to do an Omake or two somewhere down the line showing him doing his best to live a quiet, peaceful retirement.**

**Ron the True Fan: As for Ash getting ranted at… that was planned from the **_**start**_**. He has been an idiot and subconsciously, he **_**knows **_**it. He wants what's best for the girls, but in his mind that equates to 'with someone else, blissfully forgetting he even exists'. The goal of this fic is not just to analyze the harem genre as a whole, but to deconstruct Ash's character to its' core. Kyoji is not Brock: he's not going to be nice about helping him, even if he's Ash's friend. It's for Ash's own good. As for Sabrina…**

**117Jorn: *watches as chibi versions of Kyoji and Sabrina sit next to one another, being incredibly shy and socially awkward with one another* ...my god they're freaking adorable… **

**Ron the True Fan: Yes. Yes they are. Now, prepare for hell. Mewtwo comes.**

**Ja Ne!**


	29. Chapter 28: Folly of Man

**Ron the True Fan: Ash fucked up. Pure and simple.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Pretty much.**

* * *

**Pallet Town - Oak Ranch - 0706 hours local time - Day 100 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

Fire burned the grounds outside the lab as Monferno attempted to beat the living crap out of Krokorok. There was no reason for this other than the former demanding to face his Unovan equal.

Samuel Oak shook his head as the equally typed Pokemon used fighting and ground-type attacks on one another, Monferno changing it up to fire once in a while.

"I am grateful that all of my Pokemon are happily fully-evolved." he said to the larger Seed Pokemon, Ivysaur nodding along. He was not a big shock to the old man. A shock to Ash, certainly.

Bulbasaur held off on evolution for four years: he was perfectly capable of evolving to Ivysaur at any time before now.

"The Ketchum boy is going to cause issues, husband." said an old, familiar voice as Oak turned around.

"Nice to see you, too, Agatha." he said, seeing his wife appear out of Ivysaur's shadow, making the flowered Pokemon jump. "Can't you just use an Abra or something if you want to visit?"

"Dear heart, how many times do I have to tell you that psychics and ghosts don't mix?" she retorted. "And don't start on Hoopa and Lunala: they do not count. Legendaries don't follow the usual rules."

Oak chuckled. "Brandon still wanting to have you redo the rules on using legendaries in conferences?" he asked, grinning at the Battle Frontier and everyone refusing to let them compete.

"We BANNED legendaries before the Cipher War: that is _not _going to change." Agatha spat. "I came here for a reason, husband."

He lost all humor, Ivysaur fleeing outside as the tension racketed. "What is it?" he asked.

"A week ago, my ghosts detected a _massive _psychic pulse coming from Viridian." Agatha said, her Gengar coming out of her shadow to hand her a paper report on the incident, which she handed to Samuel. "And guess where Ash was last week?"

"Viridian. He destroyed Giovanni's gym." he said. "The second time he's done that." Both were excusable: Blaine and Giovanni needed to renovate a LONG time ago and at that point, it was just cheaper to demo the buildings and be done with it, replacing them with newer, modern gyms.

"You're missing the point," his wife admonished. "He was _there_! Giovanni was hiding something at that gym and Ash has most likely UNLEASHED whatever the hell he was keeping there!"

"As if Ash would willingly do something like that." Samuel said, growing annoyed at the accusation, misplaced as it was.

"I never said he did it WILLINGLY. Only that he _has_," she said, annoyed at his misunderstanding. "Lance has requested we look into it. And Ash to help put this genie of his back in the bottle."

A knock at the front door got their attention, even as Dragonite returned for the by-now daily beatin-er, training sessions. "Oh, good." the old woman said before heading for the door, her husband snorting in amusement. "What?"

"Just that you hold the pretence of being an old woman when… well… Giratina DID grant you his blessings." Samuel said.

"I AM an old woman. Just because I don't NEED the cane doesn't mean I won't use it." she said. Both of them had gained the notice of the gods that ruled their universe: Agatha had Giratina's blessing, Samuel had Celebi's. It wasn't completely unheard of: Blaine gained the blessings of a Moltres.

They were not immune to age, but they could _ignore _some of its effects.

She reached the door, opening it and expecting to just grab Ash and leave.

"Uh… hi?" said the black-haired young man that had been seen hanging around Ash.

"Ah… hello," the old woman said. "And… you are?"

"Um… Kyoji Akamura, ma'am," He bowed. "I… I'm looking for a Professor Oak, is he here?"

"He is. Is there a reason you want to talk to my husband?" Agatha asked, making the young man look at her in confusion.

"I, uh… Ok, screw it." Kyoji said. "Yellow and Red keep dragging Ash away any time their mother tries to tell him about their dad. I want to know why they keep doing that."

Ah. _That_. Well, that was something no member of the Ketchum family wanted to tell their third-eldest.

"It is… _complicated_," Agatha said, turning around and walking back inside. Kyoji stayed at the door, confused. "Don't stand there like a fool. Come in," The young man jumped and rushed in, closing the door and following her into the lab.

"Has Ash said anything about his father?" she asked him, using her cane to help her go further into the building.

"Well, originally he thought his father was Geovanni." Kyoji said, as Agatha looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "Yeah, he only just recently learned that he's his uncle… it was awkward. Aside from that though, well... he told me about some nightmare. Fire, mostly."

"That first part was disgusting, but… yeah, should've seen that coming," She shrugged, "The rest… I'm not surprised. Yellow was only a baby when it happened, but Red and Belladonna remember all too well." Agatha led him to the rear of the building, where her husband was waiting.

"Ah, Ash's new friend." Samuel said before Monferno was plastered to the side of the building. "...As I was saying, it's good to see Ash make a friend of his own gender."

Kyoji chuckled in cruel amusement. "Yeah, he tends to make ladies fall for him." he said. "But seriously. I want to know who Ash's dad was. He doesn't seem to know and every time we ask Mrs. Ketchum, Red and Yellow keep preventing it. Even his older sister's getting in on it."

The protectiveness of the Ketchum siblings to their brother was legendary. Then again…

"I may as well tell you what happened." the professor said, opening a drawer and withdrawing a weathered, aging photo of a black haired man with hints of gray on his temples, his hair sticking out to the sides of his head, making it almost look like a bird. His outfit was… flamboyant, to say the least, reminding him of a nobleman.

"He never did learn to stop making bets," Agatha said, respecting the man in question. "Would that he lived longer to annoy us all."

"Who WAS he?" Kyoji asked, stressing the question, making the couple sigh.

"Grimsley Ketchum." Samuel answered. "Formerly of the Unovan Elite Four and only formally due to his passing. They still haven't replaced him out of respect."

"More like Alder's just a lazy womanizing bastard." Agatha said, voicing her opinion of the Unovan League Champion. "Too busy chasing tail to get his Elites back to parity."

"He's the son of TWO Elite Four members?" Kyoji yelled, starting to pace the lab. "That explains a lot."

"Not really. Ash's talent isn't the result of genetics. It doesn't work that way." the professor said. "But I suspect you're more interested in why Ash has nightmares of fire when his father is involved."

"No kidding." the young man muttered, even as the professor sighed. Retelling this story sucked.

"It was eight years ago…"

* * *

**Pallet Town - Oak Ranch - 8 years prior**

* * *

_Samuel Oak awoke to the sounds of a crying bat in his window, making him nearly fall out of bed as he saw a blue eyeless bat continuously screaming at the window._

"_I should never have given that girl that damn Zubat…" he muttered as he got out of bed, dressing himself as quickly as he could, otherwise Zubat would've broken the window. Again._

_He left his bedroom, slipping on his comfortable shoes and barely getting his lab coat on before the door opened, revealing the black haired Belladonna Ketchum, her hair tied up in a sort of top-knot today. 'Always a different ponytail, every day.' Oak thought as she noticed him._

"_Good morning, Professor!" she said, happy to be in the lab as always. "Sorry about Zubat: he's excited."_

"_He's ALWAYS excited." Oak deadpanned, even as the bat in question landed on her head. "I take it you know what's going to happen today." _

"_Yup. Dad's coming home!" she replied, before scowling. "Too bad he can't stay all the time. Stupid Unova."_

"_Belladonna, you know better," said her mother as she entered the lab, her eldest son rushing in after her, tackling Belladonna to the ground. "He should be here soon, so what's taking him?"_

_A roar answered her question as a Hydreigon flew past the Ranch, Delia almost reached for a weapon that wasn't there before sighing. "WHY did he get a Hydreigon… he KNOWS I hate Hydreigon…" Delia muttered as Belladonna and Ash ran out into the Ranch grounds, finding the Unovan Brutal Pokemon landing as her rider was tackled off his mount by the two children._

"_Daddy!" said the children, making their father laugh as he sat up, smiling._

"_Well… I should take my time all the time, shouldn't I?" Grimsley Ketchum said as he rubbed Ash's head._

* * *

"It was a happy day." Samuel said, a solemn smile on his face. "Grimsley was taking the off-season to stay with his family. He doted on Ash. That only made it more tragic when _it _arrived."

* * *

_Husband and wife watched as Ash ran around with an oversized hat on his head, Belladonna petting Hydreigon and telling the dragon all that happened over the last six months._

"_You know, I'm half-tempted to take Ash with me during the next Conference." Grimsley said, his wife giving him a look. "I'm serious, sweetheart: I figured I'd show him where I go every six months."_

_Delia shook her head. "He's only six. You haven't taken Belladonna." she said, reminding him that he hadn't taken their eldest._

"_I know, but I think-" Grimsley said, only to be cut off by screaming as Ash and Belladonna ran away from something in the distance._

_That something was a massive, glowing bird with red wigs and a merrygold tail, cawing insanely._

_Ho-Oh, the Storm's End. Only this wasn't the local one. This one was a Shadow Pokemon._

_The Great Failure of Wes had come. And it was after their children._

* * *

"Belladonna was safe. That damn thing wasn't after her." Samuel recalled. "It was only ever after _Ash_."

* * *

_Ash kept running, even as his mother ran off to get her Pokemon._

_It wanted to kill him. It wanted to strip his bones of their flesh, roast him until he was just a snack for the corrupted bird._

"_GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY SON!" A Dark Pulse slammed into the bird, staggering it and making it look at the source._

_Grimsley and Hydreigon, along with Honchkrow, Bisharp, Krookodile and Houndoom, all stared down the bird, who roared at them._

"_Hit the damn thing with Dark Pulse!" their trainer commanded, all five of them firing the beams of dark energy at the corrupt Rainbow Pokemon._

* * *

Agatha scoffed. "It wasn't enough."

"No. No, it wasn't," Samuel said. "Shadow Legendaries are worse."

* * *

_CRACK went the back of Krookodile as Ho-Oh continued to peck it with its beak, taking delight in tormenting the Dark-types as life faded from his eyes._

"_CAAAAAAW!" cried the bird, even as Houndoom jumped up and sank his fangs into the Ho-oh's neck, attempting to tear the bird's throat out._

_There would be no mercy shown, no attempts to capture. Arceus willing, they would rip out the monster's corrupted heart._

_Corrupted Sacred Fire radiated from the bird, Houndoom's skin boiling away, even as his teeth sank deep and his body boiled away. He would not give up. He would not give in._

_The legacy of his end was a quickly-healing scar._

_Hydreigon was batted away, alive but his hide burning from corrupted flame, out of the fight. Bisharp was gone: his metal body no match for the might of a legendary. _

_Honchkrow swooped in, talons gripping the Legendary's skull before pecking as hard as she could, trying to crack the Rainbow Pokemon's head open before Sacred Fire again erupted from the bird, scales and feathers burning as Honchkrow was shoved off the Shadow Legend's back, landing on the ground with a thud._

_Honchkrow defiantly fired a Dark Pulse into its' face, intending to spite it, even as Ho-Oh cawed, gripping the smaller bird's neck in its jaws._

_Grimsley fired at the bird with his pistol, trying to save his Pokemon from the Shadow Legendary, but the bullets did nothing but anger it before it broke Honchkrow's neck and looked around, finding Ash still trying to run away, only to fall. "Ash!" his father called before tossing his useless handgun away, rushing over to his son as Ho-Oh took to the air, cawing in victory._

_Grimsley jumped on top of Ash just as Ho-Oh used Sacred Fire, his father screaming as he caught fire._

* * *

"...so… Ash's father died trying to save Ash?" Kyoji asked for clarification.

"He did. Disgustingly ironic that Grimsley was reduced to ash protecting him." Samuel said, uncorking a decanter filled with Orrean brandy, pouring himself a small glass. He never liked remembering this. Agatha disapproved...but she wasn't there. She didn't see the burns and how Ash screamed. "It took something worse than a Shadow Legendary to take down that abomination."

"What's worse than a Shadow Ho-Oh?" Kyoji asked incredulously.

"A very pissed off mother." the professor answered.

* * *

_The great failure of Wes cawed as the father turned to ash and the son burned, screaming. _

"_You." said a cold, angry voice as a rock smashed into the bird's face, breaking the beak and forcing it to look at the source._

_Delia Ketchum and her Pokemon glared at the bird, her Goodra and Xatu charging Psybeam and Draco Meteor while Mr. Mime put up barrier after barrier. "Now you _die_."_

* * *

"...so wait…" Kyoji raised a finger. "Was… Ho-oh going _specifically _for Ash, or was Ash just another target for prey?"

"If that thing was after food, it would have gone for Belladonna. It was after Ash." Agatha stated. "This is not the first time a Legendary turned into a Shadow Pokemon attacked someone that turned out to be important."

"...Like?"

"Must I spell it out, child?" Agatha asked. "My husband and I were nearly killed by the _same damn bird_ during the Cipher War!"

"...but why Ash though?" Kyoji mused, before he blinked. "...wait…" He glanced at them. "...this may sound very weird, but… did Ash ever tell you about his...umm… 'past situation'?"

Oak leaned back a bit, while Agatha looked perplexed. "He mentioned it," He informed, "I know that part of his mind is from an alternate future… but he never got into details… why?"

Kyoji sighed "Okay… from what he's told me, this other reality he's from was a _hell _lot more peaceful than here," He said, "Shadows never became a major issues, Team Rocket was more of a joke… but more importantly, he told me that during an incident at the Orange Isles, he learned that he's apparently this… Chosen One? At first, he thought it was just to help keep Lugia safe when some jackass was trying to steal Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno - bringing the whole area out of balance, but… he then told me about all the other crazy things like traveling through time, preventing Palkia and Dialga from killing each other once… that's lead him - and me - to believe that… he might be the Chosen One of Arceus herself."

Agatha sighed. "_That_ explains Giratina being pissy." she said.

"Not to mention, according to Ash, he's literally _died _several times in that old timeline," Kyoji continued, "Death _is _Giratina's domain… He's nearly drowning once, an incident with the Unown, dealing with Jirachi, literally _saving _Arceus once, getting sent up to the stratosphere, this whole time-travel stunt with Celebi, and one time when he was literally turned to stone by something called Mewtwo."

"...Mewtwo?" Agatha perked up a bit. "What's that?"

"Oh, apparently he was Ash's first… 'big bad' I guess you could call him," Kyoji said, "From what he told me, he learned Mewtwo was a clone of the original Mew made by Team Rocket - only augmented with superior psychic abilities, making him arguably the strongest Psychic-type Pokemon to ever exist… according to Ash, at least."

"Arceus." the married old couple said.

"Yeah, Arceus doesn't count: Arceus is literally GOD." Kyoji said. "NOTHING is better then the literal creator of the universe! But the difference between Arceus and Mewtwo - is that Mewtwo isn't bound by whatever laws or physics that keep her from casually strolling into Earth and dealing with the Shadows herself. Mewtwo is a man-made Pokemon that can pretty much do whatever he wants… according to Ash, he tried to wipe out humanity in his original timeline… no idea if he's still around, but given Ash's track record so far, I'd be inclined to believe he is."

"And it was at Giovanni's gym. Which Ash destroyed." Samuel said, sighing. "Oh, _hell_."

"Maybe Mewtwo will feel thankful this time and not want to murder everything in the world?" Kyoji said as the door opened.

"Oh, Agatha." came the voice of Delia Ketchum as she entered the lab. "I wasn't aware you were here."

"I was just leaving." Agatha looked at her husband, rushed over to give him a kiss on the cheek and phased into her own shadow, leaving the lab.

"Ah, Mrs. Ketchum." Kyoji nodded, "I was just talking to them about…" He hesitated for a moment… but decided it was a terrible idea to lie to Delia. "…asking them about Ash's past and about his father,"

"Oh?" Delia said, tilting her head, even as she looked sorrowful for a moment. "I see… why didn't you ask me?"

"I… had assumed whatever happened might have brought you bad memories," Kyoji said, scratching his head sheepishly. "Also, your children, Red and Yellow at least, seem to _always _get Ash away whenever his father is brought up, so I figured asking someone else would be best… sorry if it looks like I'm trying to be underhanded, just…" he sighed, shrugged. "I'm trying to help this guy with his lady problems."

Delia sighed. "They have good hearts." she said, looking out at the town through a window. "I mean, who wants to remember getting third-degree burns? He nearly DIED that day."

"Wouldn't be the first time…" Kyoji muttered.

"Excuse me, what?" Delia asked, looking at him with _far _more curiosity now.

"…she didn't know did she?" Kyoji glanced at Oak, who gulped.

"…never got around to it…" he muttered.

"…around to _what_, Samuel?" Delia asked, slowly beginning to glare at the two.

"Long story short!" Kyoji exclaimed quickly. "You're son's a reincarnation of his past-self from a universe that was destroyed by a psychotic prick named Cyrus, and he's nearly died, and _actually _died multiple times in that universe!"

Delia blinked in surprise. "…I'm not sure if you're lying or not, because you seem to actually _believe _it." she said.

"Just ask Surge and Erika." the professor said.

"The incompetent flower girl and the old soldier that refuses to retire?" Ash's mother deadpanned.

"Also, remember how Ash has like… _tons _of Pokemon that just randomly show up to him?" Kyoji asked, "Despite being from totally different regions? They were all _his _pokemon at one point - having reincarnated with him. How else would you explain Pokemon from as far away as _Alola _traveling all this way to be with him? And Ash acting as if he's known them for years?"

"Actually, it's mental displacement, not reincarnation." All three of them looked to the second-floor stairwell, finding Sabrina walking down. "Morning, gramma."

"Morning, honey!" Delia smiled at the Psychic teen, while Kyoji tensed seeing Sabrina, immediately going to mental-block mode.

"H-Hey Sabrina!" He greeted - keeping his mind as blank and focused as possible. "I umm… a-assumed both were sorta the same thing,"

"In a way," Sabrina shrugged, "Though remember, none of them actually _died _in their timeline according to Ash - reincarnation would imply that they _had _died, to be brought back later as an entirely different person."

"Trust Sabrina to be the expert in mental gymnastics, as usual." Samuel said, finishing his drink. "I presume this is a 'gift' from that parasite?"

"Knowledge was left behind. I just had to mature to unlock it." the greenette said before looking at her pseudo-grandmother. "...That explains why you're not pissed off. You still have that thing's head."

"It took my husband and traumatized my son." Delia said, smiling. "I figure I deserved some revenge."

"…you still have the _Ho-Oh's head_?" Kyoji blinked, his jaw dropping a bit.

"In my private study - don't let the kids in there," she smirked.

"…that is both terrifying and awesome," Kyoji muttered.

"Thank you," Delia smiled "So… what's this about you helping my son with his… lady problem though? Assuming you _are _telling the truth, since you seem like _such _a good young man…"

Kyoji blushed slightly "Well… it's obvious that Misty, Anabel, Janine, Serena and potentially Iris… really _like _Ash, right?"

"Oh very much," Delia nodded with a giggle, "They don't exactly hide it… he's certainly picked up his father's charm, that's for certain..."

"…I was born in the _wrong fucking family_…" Kyoji muttered to himself, before speaking up. "A-Anyways, Ash is also aware of this… but he's got this weird celibacy thing going… at first, it was like what I said at the Gym - he didn't want to pass Giovanni's genes since he assumed… yeah you already know what. But _now _he's got it in his head that they can do better than him, that he's not worthy of it, he doesn't want them to be in danger… all of which are, to be frank, _bullshit _excuses."

"He has always had self-esteem issues." the mother said. "I honestly blame the Ho-Oh for it."

"So… I've made it my personal mission - with Arceus's blessings - that I be your son's wingman, whether he likes it or not." Kyoji stated, "I am gonna get him his harem, one way or another.".

"Well, you have my blessings to help him. But be warned…" Delia said, happy tone turning to something more akin to something spawned by Giratina's imagination. "If you screw this up and drive him insane, my Pokemon WILL end you. They killed a _demigod_. A human is nothing."

"…*_gulp_* I… do not doubt that for a second, ma'am." Kyoji nodded, sweating bullets. "That… is _exactly _why I am proceeding with _extreme _caution and getting as much information and help as I can… this man clearly deserves the love, I just need to find a way to help him accept it without emotionally breaking him…"

Delia's threatening aura vanished as quickly as it came. "Slow and steady wins the race." she said, suddenly sunshine and rainbows again.

A bellow got their attention as Samuel braced. "Dragonite enjoys this too much." he said, anticipating another aerial war between the flying-types Ash had and his second Pokemon.

Instead, it flew _over_ the ranch. Heading for the Ketchum residence.

"…The fuck?" Kyoji asked.

* * *

Ash sighed as he was dragged outside again by Yellow. Every time he was one step closer to learning what happened and his younger siblings, bless them, dragged him away to do something else.

In this case, helping Red and Cyndaquil learn ember.

"Pika." '_Why not get Charizard for this?_" Pikachu asked, but Ash just gave in.

"Red wants to be a Pokemon Trainer and I think Cyndaquil's going to be his starter." Ash said. "Might as well teach him what he needs to know, give him a head start."

Pikachu didn't have a chance to interject as a gust of wind blew over them, followed by a Dragonite slowly making his way down.

...There was no way. Not again. NOT AGAIN.

The dragonite landed, smiling before reaching into a bag on his side and handing him a card of some kind, then flying off.

It was the same thing as last time: a holographic projector with a prerecorded message. Ash only knew the basics thanks to that Mirage Pokemon nonsense (During the time Anabel was in recovery, Ash sent Garchomp, then-Gabite, to make sure Yung's equipment...vanished) but that didn't matter.

He flicked it on, displaying a young woman that Ash knew was a Nurse Joy. "_Greetings, trainer. This message comes from my master, the greatest Pokemon Master in the world_." it said. "_You are cordially invited to a gathering at New Island. My Master awaits you this evening_."

Ash scowled. Mewtwo. He didn't know when Giovanni lost control last time, but Gary wasn't at the gym this time, so he didn't have a basis.

It didn't matter: this was _his _problem. He would deal with it, just as Arceus decreed he would deal with ALL the problems. Sometimes he hated being the Creator's gofer.

"Ash! Ash!" Ash turned as he spotted Kyoji, Oak, Sabrina and his mom running towards him. "Hey, what's up with the Dragonite?"

"Dra!" The Dragonite waved at Sabrina, and Ash was surprised when he pulled out another note - handing it to her.

Sabrina blinked, as another letter was given to her as well - emitting the same message. "I… guess I'm invited to this… too?"

Ash didn't answer. He had to deal with Mewtwo.

"...I guess it makes sense for you," Kyoji shrugged, "You _are _a Gym Leader, and only like three rungs down from Giovanni's ranking."

"...you'd think I would have gotten a letter from this… greatest pokemon trainer before…" Sabrina began, before she blinked. "Wait, no, I wouldn't… almost no one was dumb enough to come to my Gym until recently…"

"Gee I wonder why-" Kyokji started, but Ash was already gone. "Oh, COME ON!"

* * *

Natu was napping. Natus did sleep, they just did it with their eyes open. Mostly to creep out humans.

"Natu, are you awake?" Natu made a 'natu' yawn before her eyes focused on her trainer, who picked her up and plopped her on his head.

"Natu?" '_What is it?_' Natu asked.

"I need you, Krokorok, Charizard, Pidgeot and Riolu. We're going to Fushcia." Ash said as Pikachu ran off, getting the Pokemon in question.

"Natu…?" '_What about the others?_' she asked, confused.

"This is an emergency: life-or-death, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it." he said. "I don't want to risk them getting caught up in this."

Natu sighed. Her trainer wanted to protect them from himself, not realizing they would just go after him anyways. It was sweet. Stupid, but sweet.

"Natu." '_So, who are we saving the world from today?_' the bird asked.

"Mewtwo. Basically some clone of Mew." Ash answered as the Pokemon he wanted were led back to the lab. "I don't know the details. I just know he wants to kill everything and replace them with 'superior' clones of Pokemon. He doesn't like people."

"...Na-tu." '_Genocidal madmen and 'mon seem to be a common thing with you,_' said the bird as Charizard arrived.

"Char?" '_What is it, Ash_?' ashed Ash's Kanto powerhouse, even as he avoided looking at Sceptile.

"Mewtwo." Ash answered. "And we're going to stop him before he starts."

Charizard blinked… as he remembers his battle with the Clone Charizard… how he was so defiant to his brother, and how he was curbstomped…

…Charizard grinned. "Zard." '_Rematch time!_'

* * *

Kyoji and Sabrina got to the lab, only to find him teleporting off with Natu.

"Oh, Serena is going to _kill _me." the Ranseian bemoaned.

"No, she won't." Sabrina deadpanned. "_Maim_ you, maybe. She's too scared of the idea that if she kills you, she'll drive Ash further away then he already is."

"...then we best find her and the others, and get moving to Viridian!" Kyoji said, as he summoned his Natu.

"Natu."

"Teleport us to Ash's Girlfriends - we need to get moving!"

"Natu." The bird nodded, before looking at the two… and eye-smiled as it landed on Sabrina's head. "Natu~!" '_You like him, don't you_?' Sabrina could hear Natu ask.

Sabrina blushed slightly '_...he's cute, nice and respects personal space…_' She replied. '_C-can we get going please?_'

"Natu." '_Gottcha - he needs a Girlfriend or two about as much as Ash does,_' It said, as its eye began to glow - and the two teleported away.

* * *

It took a few minutes to gather everyone back to the Ketchum residence. More time then Sabrina would like.

"Okay, Serena?" Kyoji said cautiously, "I want you to assure me that when I tell you this - please keep in mind I am telling you this to _help Ash,_ alright? I want to keep you and all the other girls in-the-loop for his sake, alright?"

Serena raised her brow, but nodded. "Proceed…" she said, as she slowly began pulling out a knife.

"Okay…" Kyoji took a deep breath. "So… a Dragonite showed up, and gave Ash this holographic message, telling him that he's been invited by the 'greatest pokemon trainer', and he suddenly got really _really _weird, and before we could stop him he went and ran off with a good number of his Pokemon."

Sabrina was ready for Serena's outrage. She was the most volatile due to her fractured psyche, after all.

Instead, the outburst came from Iris and Misty, who got up and grabbed the shinobi by the collar.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE JUST RAN OFF?!" Both girls yelled before they looked at each other in shock.

"HE TELEPORTED AWAY WITH HIS NATU!" Kyoji screamed as he was choked by the girls. "HE… WAS TOO… FAST…" His face started turning purple.

"Ladies," Sabrina said, deciding to save her… possible boyfriend? …from her eventual mothers-in-law. "Ash is attempting to protect you from something he considers his own fault. Team Rocket made a Pokemon called Mewtwo and I suspect during his battle with Giovanni, he unleashed it into the world. He's trying to protect you."

"Aw, that's sweet." Serena said. "I mean, I'm not happy he just left without saying anything and I'm going to make sure I… reward him for showing us that he cares but shouldn't leave us behind later, but it's sweet."

"…how are we supposed to get to him though?" Iris asked.

"Relax, he forgot Sabrina got a message too," Kyoji smirked glancing at Sabrina… who was standing a _long _distance away from Anabel. "…oh right. But anyways, we know where he's going… and he's forgotten that…" he pulled out a Pokeball.

"Natu."

"…he's not the only one with a green psychic bird." He grinned. "Gather around everyone - we're going back to New Island!"

* * *

**Fuschia City - 0736 hours local time**

* * *

Fuchsia's small port was close enough to New Island to mock everyone that got the invite, but far enough that the sudden freak storm kept them from getting there by boat, and it was bad enough that even Ash was taking shelter in the Pokemon Center.

Only briefly: he had an idea.

"Please, for the love of Arceus, calm down!" yelled a lady with blue hair, though she was unrelated to the Jenny that keeping a hand on her still holstered sidearm. "There is no way anyone's going to get to that island you're all clamouring to get to in this weather!"

"That's not going to stop us!" cried some guy in a muscle shirt Ash barely remembered being there. "We'll brave the storm!"

"You will DIE out there! It'll take a miracle just to stand your ground out there!" the Jenny cried. "We've been trying to use Sunny Day for almost an hour: NOTHING HAPPENS!"

"I'll get there by sea." said a girl with brown hair and a pokeball necklace hanging from her neck. "Dewgong can handle this and I deep-dive with her all the time."

"Well, I'm flying." said a somewhat older teen boy with green hair. "Pidgeot can handle this storm like it wasn't there!"

The harbormaster looked at Ash. "What about you?" she asked. "Does the Crown Prince of Rota have anything to say about this storm?"

Ash's eye twitched, even as he looked at Pikachu. "Ok, one: I _never _asked for that title. If I could get rid of it, I _would_." he said, reaching for Pidgeot's Pokeball and unclipping it. "Two...I'll see you on the island." With that, Ash exited the PMC and opened the ball, letting Pidgeot out.

"Are you fucking _kidding _me?!" the Jenny yelled over the wind, keeping the doors from automatically closing. "You won't make it!" Ash pulled out his Key Stone, sighing at the idea that he needed this stupid gimmick.

"I'll make it." he said before tapping it, Pidgeot starting to glow as Mega Evolution kicked in, her flume growing and changing along with her wings, before the glow vanished, revealing a Pidgeot with blue-tipped wing feathers and pink and blue tail feathers.

"Oh, come the hell on!" said the greenette - Corey, that was his name - as he looked at the Mega Pidgeot. "You have a Mega Stone AND a Key Stone?!"

"And I don't like using them!" Ash yelled back before climbing on Pidgeot's back. "Mega Evolution's a goddamn crutch! It's what Pokemon can do _without _it that matters!"

"Yeah, but it really helps when they're in a pinch, doesn't it?!" Corey shouted. Ash simply sighed as he nudged Pidgeot.

"Come on, let's go." He said, as Pidgeot nodded, taking to the skies… and as she flew forward, made a loud BOOM as she broke the sound barrier.

Moments after doing so, blinking into existence were seven women and a man - with a Natu that let out a loud yawn as it nestled on one of the girls heads.

"Awww… he's all tuckered out…" the green-haired girl muttered, petting the Natu that nestled into her hair like a nest.

"...I don't know if I want to recall him or leave him there…" the black-haired man muttered, "He looks so happy there…"

"Yes that's cute - but we have other things to worry about!" The blonde-haired girl exclaimed, before looking at the gathered people. "Did anyone see a black haired guy about our age pass by here?"

"Huh? You mean the prince?" Corey asked, pointing forward. "He just left! We were about to head out for New Island ourselves!"

"Okedokey, time to hoof it then!" The guy said, reaching for his Pokeballs. "Sorry buddy, you can cuddle with Sabrina later,"

"Naaa…" Natu pouted, but relented as he allowed himself to be returned. Kyoji glanced at Anabel. "Can your Natu track Ash's Natu to New Island? And if so, can he teleport us there?"

"Ash isn't not there yet, but once he gets there, Natu can lock on and teleport." Anabel said, barely getting heard over the storm. "Unless you would like to teleport over the ocean in the next hour or so…"

"...yeah, bad idea…" Kyoji nodded, "So, the question is… do you girls wanna wait, or try and use whatever flying and water types we've got to fly and/or swim there?"

Misty wordlessly let out Gyarados and hopped on before the sea serpent jumped into the ocean, much to Serena's displeasure.

"...FUCKING WHORE!" Serena screamed, having to be held back by Sabrina's psychic might. "I WILL FLAY THAT DAMN THING ALIVE, YOU-"

"What's her problem with Gyarados?" Iris asked over the storm, even as the other trainers departed for the island.

"Shadow Gyarados infestation off the Kalosian coast kept her from visiting Ash for over two years." Anabel answered, even as the Kalosian girl continued raging. "She...took it personally. And made that torque bow _specifically _to kill Gyarados."

That explained a lot.

* * *

**Above the Sea of Kanto - 0840 hours local time **

* * *

Ash did not mind the wet, the cold or the wind. Not even when they were combined.

Ash was a forgiving guy. He let Paul go until the Sinnoh League, he dealt with Trip being a complete asshole, he even let Team Rocket off more then he should have.

But he had a problem with DYING. And seeing as Mewtwo and his progenitor killed him...he was not adverse to paying back the favor. He would exhaust every option to end this without bloodshed, but if it was Mewtwo or the world, Mewtwo would die first.

"Geot!" '_Mach 3 is awesome!_' Pidgeot called, looking back at Ash as she navigated around thunderclouds. "Pi?" '_You sure Mega Evolution is a gimmick, Ash? Because this is GREAT!_'

Ash opened his mouth, only to lose the air in his lungs. Mach 3 was not a good thing to the human body, even with Pidgeot forcing the air around her to make a shield for her trainer to survive.

"Pidgeot!" '_Oh, damn it. You can't talk at these speeds,_' said Pidgeot as she slowed down, New Island entering sight, allowing her to slow down. "Geot?" '_You were saying, though?_'

Ash took a deep breath. "It's a gimmick!" he yelled over the storm. "I beat a bunch of Mega Evolved Pokemon back in Kalos in some clockwork kingdom! Believe me, unless it's something like THIS, it's not worth it!"

"Pidge!" '_I guess we'll have to agree to disagree, because I LOVE THIS SO DAMN MUCH!_' Pidgeon exclaimed, with a brief boost of speed as she came in for the final landing.

New Island's sole building looked like it was carved from coral, which made some sense: the island looked like it was raised from the bottom of the sea, like the Temple. Mewtwo had one hell of an ego.

'_Oh, look at me: I can raise an island from the sea with my psychic might_!' Ash sarcastically thought as Pidgeot landed just outside the doors leading to the hall where the trainers would meet the overpowered-and-in-severe-need-of-humility being known as Mewtwo.

The doors opened just a crack, allowing the mind-controlled Nurse Joy to exit, her normally bright blue eyes a glossy purple. Even here, Mewtwo's ego knew no bounds: that was a sign he controlled her.

"My compliments to your arrival," the mind-controlled Nurse Joy said. "Present your invitation, if you would please."

Ash nodded, presenting the invitation for her. "Let's get this over with," He said.

The N.J didn't respond, simply turning away and asked for him to take a seat to await the other trainers.

As Ash sat down, he let out a sigh of relief. It was just him now - no Misty, no Brock… none of that 'harem' following him around… he could fight MewTwo and not have to-

*_SLAM_*

"ASH-FUCKING-KETCHUM!"

Well. He could say he didn't see that coming. (WHACK!)

Ash grabbed his nose, making sure it wasn't broken from the punch to the face he had received from Kyoji. How did he even get to the damn island, AND before him? Mach three was no mere number: Pidgeot crossed oceans at that speed within a matter of minutes.

"Natu." '_No one expects the psychic parrot,_' said a male bird as Ash opened his eyes, seeing… everyone he left back in Pallet, sans Misty.

"If you're wondering about Misty, she's using her Gyarados to get over here." Kyoji said before hauling Ash to his feet. "You really are a selfish, selfless bastard."

"Did you have to punch me?" Ash asked, even as Kyoji scowled at him. "And why did you bring them here?! I left you guys back in Pallet because it's safer there!"

"Mewtwo is trying to flood the earth according to Sabrina," Kyoji deadpanned, "I don't exactly consider that to be 'safe'. Also, they would've come running with or without me… and I feel I was justified to punch you for trying to solo this bullshit - you know, the very thing WE WERE TALKING ABOUT EARLIER?!"

"I know that! But...I didn't want you guys to get hurt. The further you are from Mewtwo, the better." Ash said. "Can you blame me for wanting to make SURE you were all safe?"

"Sweet thought, really, I'm touched. But this is _not _happening again." Kyoji said. "You're stuck with us no matter what. You get me?"

"Do I have to say 'sir?'" Ash snarked, Kyoji smirking.

"No...but once this is over, you owe one of those girls a date. A REAL date." Ash could have wept. He had no idea how a date was supposed to go! And those soap operas were not good reference material.

…If Ash had to suffer…

"Fine, but I'm making it a double date." Ash said, grinning sadistically. "And your date's going to be Sabrina."

Kyoji blanched at that, as Sabrina coughed a bit. "You… do not get to make that choice for her,"

"And you can for me?"

"Because those girls love you, and I _know _the way you feel about them." Kyoji said, "If Sabrina doesn't want to go, she doesn't _have _to go."

"Then you ask her when this is all over." Ash retorted. "If we're still alive for it."

"Fine, she's gonna say no anyways!" Kyoji exclaimed, "She knows what goes on in my head!" He then pointed at Ash. "And _you _can't pull dad authority to tell her to say 'sure'!"

"I don't tell Sabrina to do anything she doesn't want to." Ash said before letting out all of his Pokemon, Pikachu leaping off and heading to Serena. "She _still _scares the shit out of me."

"...How does-"

"Let's say it involved dolls." Ash cut off.

* * *

**Off the coast of New Island - 0845 Hours Local Time**

* * *

Magikarp swam in the waters surrounding New Island. One was massive.

It was also not a real Magikarp.

"The only thing we're missing…" Jessie growled out as she pedalled along with her teammates towards the island Ash was on. "Is the damn theme for _Das Boot_!"

Ironically, we're listening to that as we write this scene.

"Cheating bastard!" Meowth snapped.

This is literally the only Team Rocket vehicle I legit would want to own - let us have this.

"And you dropped something." James said as he pedalled.

Like what?

"The fact WE WERE THERE when Ash's dad got torched?!" Jessie snapped at the authors.

We've been dropping hints of that since the fic _started_. If the readers couldn't figure it out before now…

"Very funny," the Trio deadpanned. "Shouldn't you kick off the flashback?"

Shouldn't _you _be watching out for the rocks?

"Rocks?" Jessie peaked through the periscope, and groaned. "…why do you do this to us?"

We can be very vengeful gods when we want to. Plus, the readers like watching you suffer.

"Son of a bitch…" Meowth said as the sub impacted an outcropping of coral.

Do try to salvage the sub later. You're going to need it, seeing as you don't have the bullshit mecha resources anymore.

"Why do you hate mechas?!" James cried as the inside began to fill with water.

Because the gimmick got very old, very fast. Plus, this is a story about hyper-intelligent, borderline magic animals - not _Mobile Suit Gundam_. We have stories for that.

"Cut the scene, CUT THE SCENE!" the Trio cried as they attempted to escape.

* * *

**New Island 'cathedral' - 0920 Hours Local Time**

* * *

Ash and Pikachu wished they could cover their ears as Serena glomped him, giving him a hug before loosening her embrace… then pressing her lips to his, kissing him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Iris scowling at Serena. It had been less than a month: HOW had she gotten to the point she was at when they got to Mistralton in less time?!

Serena let him go, smiling happily. "THANK YOU!" she cried. "There are so many things I want to do, but…" she paused, collecting herself and keeping her 'voices' in the back of her head. "I want our first date to be _special_."

"Well, there are a lot of places we haven't been…" Ash said nervously. And a lot of places that he either didn't want to go to or simply didn't exist in this timeline. Neon Town? Not there in this timeline: that desert didn't even exist. That mountain where he spent a night with his Pokemon in subzero weather? FUCK that.

"Where do you want to go? As long as you make an effort, it'll be ok." Serena said, almost...normal by Ash's standards. As in 'past timeline'.

"Well… I need to-" Ash began to say, before the doors slammed open once more as Misty - now covered in water - finally barged in.

"…as I was going to say before you left," Kyoji said. "We only had to wait a little and ya could've avoided the hassle, Misty…"

"Wasn't… waiting…" Misty panted.

Saved by the morning mist. The look Kyoji sent him, however, meant he was not free and Serena was still holding onto him. A fact Misty did not like.

"What are you doing?" she asked hotly as she walked over to the pair, Serena holding on tight.

"Ash is going to take me out on a date after this." she said matter of factly, reminding him of that 'Mirror Serena' in Kalos. At least she wasn't wearing a short shirt and even shorter skirt.

"Excuse me?" she demanded. "He's not taking you out," Ash coughed, getting her attention.

"Uh… I have to." he said, shrugging. "Kinda the only thing keeping Kyoji over there from punching my face in for leaving you behind," Could they blame him? He was here last time and they nearly died. He DID die.

"Ash, while I know you're just trying to keep us safe, given, you know…" Misty said, twirling a finger in the air to represent her psychic fragment. "Leaving us behind was the wrong thing to do. Sweet, given you're trying to protect us, but wrong."

"That doesn't change that he's taking me out. We just need to figure out where," Serena said, her voice taking on a more… lustful tone.

Ash gulped as Serena's more… _seductive _persona worked its way out. "How… how about, ummm…" he racked his brain - thinking of a place. Alola would be ideal, but that was way too far… Ransei sounded nice, but he was afraid that might get Kyoji in trouble… but a lightbulb appeared over his head as he snapped his fingers. "How does Pewter City Museum sound?"

Serena blinked, processing this. "Pewter… That's near the Kanto/Rota border, isn't it?" she asked, getting a nod from Ash, who wanted to be as far from Rota as possible. Regi Golems, killer tree and all that. "Sure. Maybe Misty would like to join us?" Serena batted her eyes at Misty, making her blush and back away.

There was just something in her voice… '_NO, Ketchum,_' he thought. '_Cyrus first, loins _long _after the son of a bitch's corpse is worm bait._'

"One minute, you want to kill me, the next, you want to...There is something WRONG with you." Misty said, backing away, blush on her face.

"Don't I know it." Ash muttered, knowing while he had problems, Serena was just as bad, if not worse. And part of her was a pervert as bad, if not worse then, Alder.

The doors opened once more, allowing the man in the muscle shirt to enter, who then noticed the people in the hall, his expression that of confusion and indignation that so many people beat him here before seeing Misty.

Who was wet, and her top not only clung to her form, it made it somewhat translucent, meaning he could see what she was wearing under it.

"Hehe. Nice." he muttered before getting glared at by Kyoji. Which was nothing compared to what Ash did.

He got out of Serena's far too welcoming embrace, the girl complaining before Ash balled his right hand into a fist, reared it back and aimed specifically for the face. He never saw it coming as his nose broke, falling on his ass as blood poured out of his nose.

"Ow!" he said, his hand turning red and slick with his own blood as he tried to stem the flow. "Da fuck was that for?!"

"Being a pervert, for one." Ash all but growled.

"So? She's not your girlfriend, Princy!" the guy spat as he cracked his nose back into place. "She's single as far as I'm aware, and you had that Kalosian hottie all over you!"

Misty walked over, the idiot's eyes all over her, Ash growling to make him learn to keep his eyes to himself. "And who are you?" she asked, muscle man getting up.

"Fergus Umio, water Pokemon expert at your service!" introduced the man, even as blood streamed from his nose once more.

"Well, Fergus…" Misty said before grabbing Ash's arm, dragging him over to him before putting her lips to his, much to his shock, making the water trainer gape at the girl kissing Ash.

'_I so want to relax, to give in_…' Ash thought, only to snap out of it. '_No_!' He was not going to sink to that letch's level!

"Oh, COME ON!" Fergus yelled. "Fucking Rotan nobles and their polygamous bullshit…"

Misty let Ash go, sighing. "Ash deserves this more than you know…" she said, putting her head on his shoulder. "So much more than you know…"

'_What, I die five times, almost die over a dozen other times, watch a universe die and suddenly I'm worthy of this?_' Ash thought darkly. '_No. just… no._'

"He deserves it more than anyone else here, that's for sure…" Kyoji muttered, "So… how long are we waiting for tall, dark and gruesome to show up?"

"My Master will arrive when all who can make it past the storm are present." the brainwashed Joy answered.

"…Can you make that any more monotonically _creepy_?" the Ranseian asked.

She didn't answer. Ash was just waiting for Serena to explode, looking at his… unwitting bride-to-be.

To his surprise, Serena was impassive, reminding him far too much of Cyrus. Then her expression turned to a mix of anger and… _arousal_.

'_If I had a choice in the matter, I'd put a restraining order out on her._' Ash thought sadly.

* * *

Kyoji moved next to Sabrina "Say uh… I'm no psychic, but… is that lady being mind-controlled?" He asked.

"Oh _absolutely_," Sabrina nodded, "It's actually painful to watch…"

"…you think you could do something about that without hurting her?" He asked.

"Mewtwo is the most powerful psychic on the planet." Sabrina answered. "Power without skill is pointless. A mindless fool is no match for someone with an adequate level of skill. Just ask dad: that's how he wins most of his battles."

Kyoji looked at her questioningly. "…Did you just insult him?" he asked.

"It's the truth. He uses skill over brute force. It's how Pokemon he caught in the same region could fight on near-equal terms with more powerful ones in his Conference matches." she answered, shrugging. "Charizard could have won him Kalos, Infernape and Sceptile could have won him Unova."

That made sense. Ash seemed to prefer battle dancing to boxing.

"Also… yes." she then added.

"So… should we?" Kyoji gestured towards the woman. "Because… just looking at her being controlled like that… its just _sad_…"

"No, the double date thing. Yes," she said, making him look at her. "You're a healthy young man: you're bound to have a few less then wholesome fantasies. You think Ash doesn't have the occasional dirty thought about the girls he loves?"

"…Considering the bullshit?" he replied questioningly.

"He wants to do well by them. That doesn't mean he doesn't imagine them in the most alluring outfits or situations you can think of on occasion." the adopted Ketchum replied. "Besides, he has a point: I'm a grown woman, not to mention a powerful psychic. I can take care of myself."

"Um… never said you weren't…" Kyoji muttered, gulping a bit. "Just, umm… f-figured you'd like someone who's more… ya know… strong-willed I guess? Or… I don't know I…" He sat down with a long sigh. "…I am not mentally prepared for this…"

"What? Never had a girlfriend before?" Sabrina chuckled, before she stopped - reading his surface thoughts. "…oh…"

Kyoji bit his lip a bit. "…being the child of a big mafia family isn't what it's cracked up to be…" he nodded, "And then betraying that family, thinking you might make those same people trust you more?" He let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah… turns out, it just makes you look like a back-stabbing prick to all the women in the country…"

"Look, I… made a promise to Arceus to help Ash," He sighed. "I made it clear I'd sacrifice my happiness to help him, because… he's clearly been through worse shit than I have…

"Ash likes to see others happy. Besides…" she said, chuckling nervously. "I've never had a boyfriend…"

The awkward moment got worse when the door opened, with the green-haired man and the brunette girl came in, then saw Sabrina.

"HOLY SHIT!" the greenette yelled, slowly backing away. "SABRINA?!"

"Anyone but her… ANYONE but her!" the brunette yelled before they turned around to run, but the doors slammed shut in their faces before they ran into them, putting them on their asses.

"…I have a terrifying reputation." Sabrina said, shrugging.

"I can imagine." Kyoji deadpanned as the pair got up, shaking their heads before seeing her again.

"We… will stay over here!" The brunette called out - as they sat on the table opposite to her. "Don't… w-we're sorry about last time!"

Sabrina blinked for a moment, looking at her… scanning her mind for a brief second. "Oh riiight." She snapped her fingers, "You tried to challenge my Gym, didn't you? Neesha, was it? "

"I won't go again - I'm sorry!" She pleaded, sinking in her chair in fear.

"Well, it's… closed right now," Sabrina shrugged, "But… yeah, once things get settled, I'm accepting challengers again soon, I just need to help my daddy first."

"I… what?" Neesha blinked, "You're… not gonna screw with my head again, right? Shellshocker's _still _doing therapy…"

"S-Sorry…" Sabrina bowed her head. "Look… I was a crazy bitch, alright? I am _well aware _of that, but… I'm getting better thanks to my dad and… other people…" she quickly glanced at Kyoji before focusing back on Neesha.

"Wait… DAD?" asked greeny - '_Corey Soaro_.' supplied Sabrina telepathically - looking shocked and confused. "I thought your dad was dead!"

"Well, my actual dad is," Sabrina said before gesturing at Ash. "I adopted him."

Neesha and Corey stared at Ash, then Fergus looked at Sabrina. "HOW?! HOW DID YOU ADOPT THAT CRAZY, HOT GYM LEADER AS YOUR KID?! SHE'S OLDER THAN YOU!"

Sabrina glared at him, Kyoji feeling as though he would be suffering in a minute before a chime sounded.

Ash then let out all of his Pokemon: Charizard, Sceptile, Krokorok, Riolu and Natu joined Pidgeot and Pikachu, ready for war.

The lights in the room darkened - save for a single pillar of light stretching from the roof. "Thank you all." The NJ said. "I'd now like to introduce the world's greatest pokemon trainer - who will now join you."

Down from the light, emerged a form - one Ash was _intimately _familiar with, remembering those eyes all too well.

"As you can see, my master is not only the world's greatest pokemon trainer," She said as the Genetic Pokemon landed on the ground, his tail flicking on occasion. "He is also the world's greatest pokemon."

"A pokemon can't be a Pokemon trainer!" Fergus called out. "No way!"

"_Technically_, not true," Kyoji pointed out with a raised index finger. "There isn't a law that outlaws Pokemon from being trainers… it's more there hasn't been one with the capabilities to _become _one."

"Wait, really? Neesha asked, as Kyoji pulled out a rule book.

"I keep a copy of the rules with me," he shrugged. "You'd be surprised how easy it is to find loopholes in here."

"_Indeed,_" radiated a psychic presence, making Ash scowl. "_I am Mewtwo._"

* * *

Mewtwo. Ash remembered all too well what happened last time he was here.

"_My psychic might is equaled by none,_" Mewtwo said. Ash decided to be an asshole for once.

"Arceus." he stated plainly. The Genetic Pokemon gave him a look. "So you can lift an island out of the sea. Big deal. Arceus created the _universe_."

"_I will deal with the Creator in my own time_…" Mewtwo trailed off. "_Interesting. I can only read your surface thoughts. Something in my mind won't let me peer deeper_."

"Who cares?!" Corey yelled, sending out his Rhyhorn, just like last time. Ash just pinched the bridge of his nose and waited for Mewtwo to just smack it aside, same as before.

He did just as easily. Fergus was next to try with Gyarados and Hyper Beam. Ash wondered if he was the only sane one in the room as Mewtwo deflected the beam.

"Trivial." Both Mewtwo and NJ said, before Mewtwo waved his hand. "_I have no more need of you._" The Nurse gasped a bit as her eyes returned to normal and began to fall - Kyoji stepping up - sliding forward to catch her.

"Oi, you alright?" He asked.

"I… I think…?" She glanced around. "Where… what…?"

"Long story short - you've been abducted by a psychic pokemon with a stick up his ass," Kyoji said.

"He's a psychic-type, you _morons_," Ash finally said to Fergus. "A clone of Mew kinda spells it out."

Mewtwo lowered his hand, glancing at Ash. "_Indeed. You seem to know what I am,_" he intoned before tilting his head. "_You were there when I was freed… in fact, I dare say you _did _free me. Perhaps I owe you thanks._"

Ash spread his arms, as if to show he wasn't a threat. "Is there any way we can solve this without someone getting hurt more than they already have been?" he asked, slowly approaching the clone of Mew. "I mean, I'd rather talk this over then let it end in violence."

"_At one point, I thought I'd work alongside humans,_" Mewtwo spoke, "_But I was disappointed. Humans are a dangerous species, inferior to Pokemon. If cruel, weak humans are allowed to govern this planet, the world is headed to ruin! You have already seen it with these Shadow abominations - abominations created by humans, for no reason other than to enslave us, and manipulate our power!_"

"Oh really?" Kyoji deadpanned, helping Nurse Joy to her feet. "And who _is _ready to lead the world? Pokemon like you?"

"_Pokemon are unfit as well,_" Mewtwo claimed, "_After all, they allowed humans to rule in the first place. For some pokemon, the purpose of their lives is to serve humans._"

"Pika!" '_It fucking isn't!_' Pikachu shouted, jumping off Ash's shoulder. "Pikachu!" '_I'm Ash's _partner _\- we're friends! Sure, there are shitty trainers out there, but don't ball them all up together to represent everyone!_'

"_You're as pathetic as the rest,_" Mewtwo rolled his eyes, "_Though that's to be expected from an abomination of the shadows like you._" He flicked one of his fingers, as Pikachu was sent flying back - though Ash was quick to jump up and catch Pikachu before he hit the ground. "_Weak Pokemon nestle under a human's wing._"

Ash looked at Mewtwo, glaring. "I was hoping I could get you to be _reasonable_." he said, voice cracking with anger. "Hoping you could find your own corner of the world to live in. But you know what? You're not getting off THAT lightly."

"Hold - one moment Ash." Kyoji held up a finger, looking at Mewtwo. "Okay, uh, Mewtwo, right? So… allow me to recap your plan… you want to flood the planet with this nasty storm of yours, kill all humans and weak Pokemon, and use your clones to repopulate the world with your ideal pokemon, right?"

"_Yes_." Mewtwo nodded. "_That is my plan, and you can't stop it._"

"Oh, I don't have to stop it because its _fucking stupid_ and _doomed to fail_," Kyoji deadpanned.

Everyone - including Ash and Mewtwo - all recoiled a bit at his bluntness. "_E-excuse me?_" Mewtwo asked.

"Its stupid, dumb and its going to fail before it can even get off the ground." Kyoji stated, rubbing his forehead. "Let's start with this. Sure you have the _ability _to flood the world, - sure, great. Good for you, you might even get Kyogre on your side… but Groudon? Fuck, the moment he finds out what you're doing, he is gonna march over here and _burn this place to the ground._ Land is his domain! And if you flood his domain, he _will _retaliate! And that's just _one _Legendary! What about Xerneas? She loves life, she _creates _life! And you trying to destroy life will surely bring her out to kick your ass! Then the guardian deities of Alola might come in if you try to flood _their _homes, then their the Tao Trio, the swords of justice, legendary beasts and birds, I doubt _any _of them will like the idea of their homes being submerged by water!"

"And that's just the regulars!" He continued on with his rant, "Those are just the _average _legendaries in our world! You may be the strongest psychic-type Pokemon in the world Mewtwo, but you are still an _ant _compared to the likes of Arceus, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina! Litteral _gods _who control creation, space, time and antimatter! They can literaly _flick_ you out of existance - and I know for a fucking fact that they _will _do something if you decide to go full-on genocide on the world _they _call home just as much as any other pokemon!"

"You may succeed in killing a lot of humans, and a lot of Pokemon Mewtwo," Kyoji finished up, shaking his head. "But you will never succeed in killing them all - because whether you like it or not, humans _and _pokemon are connected to this world together, for better or worse," he then crossed his arms. "In fact… you're acting _pretty damn human _right now. You assume all of humanity is like Team Rocket, Galactic, Plasma, or whatever. But how the hell do _you _know that? Have you even bothered to explore the world? To look beyond what those criminals bothered to show you? And I don't mean though the eyes of cameras you set up - I mean for you to actually _be _there, to experience the good, the bad and the ugly in this world. Because if you don't… you're making the same mistake any human can make - to judge something they don't even bother to try and understand."

Mewtwo huffed out his nose, then lifted his arm towards Kyoji, who started glowing. "_You talk too much._" he spat before tossing him away.

"I REGRET NOTHI-" Kyoji began to shout, before he slammed into a wall, cracking it and knocking the Ranseian out.

Then raw psychic energy slammed into him, forcing him back into the back of the building, right where that field was last time, Ash looking to see Sabrina radiating raw power.

"You are going to regret that, _child_." Sabrina said, pouring her might into breaking Mewtwo's body.

Mewtwo actually seemed to falter, struggling against Sabrina's psychic abilities. "All power, no skill." she said, hitting at Mewtwo's weak points, bones cracking from psionic attacks getting past his telekinetic barriers. "You recreated the cloning technology from passively scanning those scientists, cloned a bunch of starters, but you needed HER help to give them life." Sabrina gestured at the Joy, who cradled her head. "You're pathetic, Mewtwo. And Arceus will strike you down with all his fury if you even try this stu-"

The Gym Leader was forced back, Mewtwo's raw power shoving Sabrina to the entrance to the gathering hall - but she was able to skid to a halt.

"_I am so glad you joined this event, Sabrina…_" Mewtwo stated - his power flaring up as the pillars bent around him. "_Of all the weak humans… you're the only one who I view as a threat… and I will show you that my power far exceeds your own._"

"Power is nothing if you swing it around like a club." Sabrina said, Mewtwo's left eye twitching. He covered his face, grimacing in pain like he was nursing a headache. The reddening of his eye showed otherwise. "Psionics are a _scalpel_. And if you don't know how to use a scalpel, you're going to hurt yourself more then anyone else."

Ash did _not _want to get between the war of psychics. The _last _time he did, he was turned into a rock.

Mewtwo ceased his psychic assault. "_It appears we are at an impasse,_" he 'voiced'. "_I have the power to crush you like a lowly insect, but by the time I do, you will have done the same in a more… precise manner. I believe the term is called 'mutually assured destruction'._" He healed himself, using Recover if Ash could place a guess.

"So what now?" he asked, Pikachu climbing back up to his shoulder. "We're not just going to let you kill everything out of spite." He had FAR too much experience with that. He was out to stop Cyrus from doing _just that_. Even if Mewtwo did his job for him, that was one man and his organization amongst _billions _of innocents.

_That _was just unacceptable.

Mewtwo forced the back wall to part, revealing what Ash already knew was behind the church-like building: a regulation Pokemon battleground, complete with stands. Ash didn't know why he bothered making it last time. Ego? Seriously, why would he bother?

"An arena?" Iris asked, confused. "Why would you make an arena? You hate everything about us."

"_Despite my enhanced mind and power, there is one thing the ones that made me did not remove,_" Mewtwo said, using telekinesis to fly over the field, landing in the center of the battlefield. "_An instinctive desire for combat. It is in our nature: part of our very genetic code. I suspect even the Creator has a sort of lust for battle and destruction. I will soon learn._"

As he finished 'speaking', three Pokemon were teleported in front of the genetic Pokemon. "_As with all trainers, I began with Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, but in my case, they were created and engineered to be the perfect examples of their species,_" Mewtwo boasted, Ash and Charizard glaring at the spotted 'perfected' Flame Pokemon.

Charizard had to wait for Ash to give the word. He wanted to tear Mewtwo's head off for what happened last time. Sceptile and Krokorok also got ready to fight, though Krokorok was more interested in ripping Mewtwo in half with his jaws. Psychics: the natural prey of dark-types.

"_You wish to see the nature of my superiority? Face my clones in battle,_" Mewtwo stated. "_These battles will decide the fate of your world. Should you be victorious, I will surrender. But if you lose… this world will belong to me._"

"Not all of us have special starters!" Fergus yelled. "I had a Psyduck!"

Misty looked at him oddly. "…I actually pity you." she said. Ash almost laughed in agreement.

"Gold!" '_Oh what the fuck?!_' The Golduck exclaimed, before noticing Misty's own Psyduck. "...Duck." '_...Okay, that I understand._'

"_But three of you do. A Blastoise, Venusaur and Charizard,_" Mewtwo said. "_One stands before me._"

Neesha chuckled nervously. "…Uh… Shellshocker's in recovery thanks to Sabrina being crazy." she said. "Two months worth of broken bones and a wounded pride…"

"Sorry!" Sabrina apologized again.

"_Rectified,_" Mewtwo stated, much to the girl's surprise as a Blastoise was suddenly teleported in front of him, then surrounded by psychic energy, like a more powerful version of Heal Pulse.

"…Thank you?" she asked hesitantly.

"Blast?" '_Where the hell am… I…_" Shellshocker asked, glancing around… before spotting Sabrina and his eyes went wide, "Blast! BLAST!" '_NOT HER! ANYONE BUT HER!_'

"I know, I know!" Sabrina waved her hands, "I'm really, _really _sorry about that! But… your trainer needs your help right now…" she gestured over to the clone-Blastoise and Mewtwo.

Shellshocker looked at Sabrina _very _cautiously, before looking at Neeshe - who sighed. "…look, the fact she's not doing the creepy voice thing is a plus, isn't it?" She shrugged. "Just… ignore her if it makes you feel better, big guy…"

The Blastoise took a deep breath before nodding. "Blast…" '_Well, she's not being a threat…_' he muttered, before punching his fists for a moment. "Toise!" '_Ready to go!_'

"That's the spirit, big guy." Neesha smiled.

"_Do not mistake this for an act of kindness,_" the Genetic Pokemon said as Shellshocker's eyes focused on him. "_I simply wish to prove the superior nature of my kind. I cannot do that if there is no Pokemon to face my Blastoise._"

Kyoji groaned out something that sounded like 'smug fuck,' only to have his head smacked into the wall again by psychic powers.

"Stop doing that," Sabrina growled, Ash feeling a strange feeling of pride in his adopted…

'…_One kiss and I'm starting to think like a dad. DAMN IT!_' Ash thought. '_Stupid hormonal bullshit!_'

"_When he learns to _shut his mouth_, I will,_" Mewtwo said, smug as hell. "_Who is first to show the superiority of the engineered over the mindlessly bred?_"

Kyoji pulled himself out of the hole again "My Gible…" he muttered, sounding a bit haggard. "…could kick your fu-GAH!" Mewtwo slammed him back into his hole. "...I swear to ass, I'm gonna kick your god…"

"…he's not gonna get brain damage, right?" Neesha asked, glancing at the hole.

"He has a _surprisingly _thick skull," Sabrina shrugged with a little giggle, "He'll be fine."

"_Enough,_" Mewtwo demanded, annoyance showing in his eyes. "_Choose who goes first. The fate of this world hinges on this battle._"

Corey gestured at the cloned Seed Pokemon. "Take that thing down, Bruteroot_!_" he said, the Venusaur marching forward into the battlefield.

The cloned Blastoise and Charizard gave their Venusaur 'sibling' space to battle, waiting for their turn as they moved to the sides of the arena. The Charizard clone shot Ash's a very superior, dirty look.

"Sludge Bomb!" Corey ordered. Bruteroot's flower filled with toxic sludge, launching he launched it with a combination of hydraulic and air pressure at the clone, who generated a bubble-like shield to stop it, reacting faster to spit out a stream of poison.

"Dodge the Venoshock, then use Sunny Day!" the trainer commanded, Bruteroot jumping to one side with a thud, avoiding the steam of poison, with a ball of plasma forming in his flower.

"_You intend to use Solar Beam?_" Mewtwo asked, disappointed. "_Pointless._"

"You're not reading my mind or you'd know!" Corey said, smirking as the clouds momentarily parted, lighting up the eye of the storm. "Weather Ball! Keep firing until it sticks!"

Bruteroot laughed as he fired off a small ball of fire from his flower, the clone using Protect to stop the first shot, flames dotting the field. The next two were no better, but the fourth shot struck, the conifer-like plant on the clone's back catching fire briefly. In response the clone used Venoshock and Sludge Bomb at the same time, the bomb turning into smaller bomblets in midair.

There would be no escape. Bruteroot only realized this as he fired off another Weather Ball, the fireball hitting the Venoshock, aerolyzing the poison, turning it into toxic gas, which hit the porous grass-type, instantly poisoning him. The bomblets fell, sealing his fate. Bruteroot collapsed, poison dripping from his form.

"Bruteroot!" Corey yelled in concern before the clone laughed, which could be understood by anyone. To Ash, who understood everything, it was just hollow.

"_The first to fall, like chaff from the wheat_." Mewtwo said smugly. "_Your chances are not good._"

Neesha pointed at Mewtwo, anger radiating from her form in waves. "We'll see about that!" she declared. "Go, Shellshocker! Kick that Blastoise's ass!"

"Blast!" '_Let's do this_!' cried the Shellfish Pokemon as he stomped onto the field, water cannons at the ready. The clone Venusaur left the field as his master swept the poison off the arena floor with a wave of his hand.

If anything, at least he was letting this be a fair fight.

"Body Slam!" Neesha commanded. Shellshocker charged at the clone, who simply brought his arms to his chest, a faint steel glow over his form, using Iron Defense before Shellshocker slammed into the clone, doing almost nothing.

"_Weak_." Mewtwo spat.

"Shut the _fuck _up!" Neesha snapped at Mewtwo before returning to the fight. "Zen Headbutt and Bulldoze, then Focus Blast!"

Shellshocker reared his head back, purple energy forming on his forehead before slamming into the clone's, making the clone stagger backward before being slammed into by the naturally born Blastoise.

The clone formed a ball of fighting-type energy in his left hand, throwing it at Shellshocker. Ash scowled, suddenly wanting to find Paul and beat him upside the skull a few times until he realized how he was treating his Pokemon was wrong as the Focus Blast hit Shellshocker, knocking him back.

"Shellshocker!" Neesha tried before the clone leaned forward, icy energy spitting forth and striking her Blastoise in the stomach, freezing him from the chest down. As he tried to break free, the clone used Hydro Pump, shooting Shellshocker with overpressurized water, enough to make even his bones break.

"NO!" Neesha yelled before the cloned Shellfish Pokemon slammed an Aura Sphere into Shellshocker's chest, knocking him out as his shell began to crack.

"_A poor performance, indee-_" Mewtwo started before the Crown Prince of Rota interrupted him.

"You need to learn to _shut the fuck up_."

Mewtwo looked at Ash, who looked… pissed. "I have had _enough _of your _fucking ego_." he spat. Mewtwo was worse in this timeline. The last time, it was just being lonely and misunderstanding the world. Now? THIS was unacceptable.

"_My ego?_" Mewtwo said, smiling. "_Well, then. Knock it down._"

Ash looked at Charizard, who popped a few joints in his neck. "Do what you gotta do." he said. "Just kick his ass." Ash calmly stepped forward… and Mewtwo was oddly… _disturbed _by the smile that appeared on his face. "My friend has been waiting for this… for a VERY long time." He said, as he gestured forward. "Let's go, Charizard!"

Charizard took to the air for but a moment, slamming into the field before green dragonic energy covered his claws. "_CHARIZARD!_" '_TIME TO DIE, ASSHOLE! THIS IS FOR LAST TIME!_' Charizard roared.

The Clone-zard blinked, before gulping a bit. "…Char." '_Oh shit._' He tried forming his own Dragon Claws to combat Charizard's, but Charizard had an edge the clone didn't.

Well, a _lot _of edges, really.

One, he knew what the clone could do. Two… he had a LOT of experience fighting stronger opponents. Especially stronger Charizard, given he had to WIN Charla's heart in combat.

The clone charged, but instead of meeting claw to claw, Charizard tucked his wings in, ducked and swiped at the clone's legs, cutting deep into the muscle tissue. The clone cried out in pain, but Charizard was not done.

"Char." '_Your pain's just beginning, asshole!_' he said as the clone passed over him, but he bit hard on the cloned Flame Pokemon's tail, bones cracking in the appendage before Charizard used Metal Claw, the hardened claws not cutting the flesh, but that wasn't the point: he didn't make them sharp. He made them blunt.

Instead of knives, he made clubs, which slammed hard into the left thigh of the clone, enough to break the femur, forcing him to land on the ground with a thud.

"_What? How?!_" Mewtwo said as Charizard took the lead. "_You aren't even commanding him! How is he doing that?!_"

"I trust Charizard completely. I don't _need _to tell him to do _anything_." Ash said, turning the bill of his hat around to the back, Mewtwo seeing the rage in his eyes, enough to make the psychic recoil somewhat. "You want to murder _trillions _of people and Pokemon. That's enough to let me take Charizard off what little leash I _do _give him. _Reap what you sow_."

The Clone was visibly panicking as he skirted away "Char… CHAR!" '_Fuck… THIS!_' It cried out as it begun flapping its wings as hard as it could to fly away.

Charizard got back to his feet, unfurling his wings. Just like last time, this would be settled in the air. Unlike last time… the clone would be broken.

Like many of the Pokemon that were there, Charizard was not fond of seeing Ash die. The only reason Ash didn't bring Ivysaur or Squirtle was to keep them from doing something stupid. Charizard wanted revenge. He would get it.

They were a _tad _bit bitter over last time. Who could blame them?

Charizard spat out dragonfire, clipping the clone's wing, forcing it to turn right in an attempt to get away from the vengeful dragon, but the pain was distracting it, making the clone continue to turn right, making a u-turn straight into Charizard. The clone yelped as he tried to turn away, but that turn only made it easier for Charizard to grab him from behind, his claws digging into the clone's wings before he snapped the bones, making it impossible for the clone to fly.

But the humiliation was not over as Charizard fell to catch his counterpart, smirking evilly, waiting for the command. He could have just done it, but he so enjoyed it when Ash ordered him to do his third favorite move.

"Seismic Toss!" Ash yelled, his voice barely reaching his Kanto powerhouse. But it was enough as Charizard flew upwards, then started rolling towards the field below, cackling as they built up speed, the clone panicking as the ground neared.

"CHAR!" '_THIS IS FOR MURDERING MY FUCKING BROTHER!_" Charizard said before dropping the clone to the field, making a large crater that the clone was not getting out of.

The twitching form could barely move his arm: Charizard had broken almost every bone in his body.

Kyoji poked his head out of his crater, chuckling "Hehehe… fuck you ya-GRK!" Once more, he was thrusted into the hole - a bit more forcefully this time… though Mewtwo didn't exactly seem… _happy _at the moment.

"_This is _not _over,_" Mewtwo snapped, lifting the clone out with his telekinetic powers.

"What, you want Charizard to beat the crap out of the other two?" Serena cried, hands on her hips. "Go ahead! You're going to lose, you overgrown cat! My-"

Serena then was shoved into the table head first, knocking her unconscious as Mewtwo seethed.

"_Mentally broken child,_ shut up_,_" Mewtwo snapped. "_I am tired of you all bantering-_" Mewtwo then felt something hit his jaw, hard enough to distract him as his head twisted left.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ash Ketchum, radiating pure rage.

"Never. Touch. Her. Again." he ground out, Mewtwo staring at him in shock.

"_You… you hit me,_" he said, as if unable to process this. Ash supposed he couldn't. The most powerful Pokemon on the planet, hit by a human teenager?

"And I'll hit you _again _if you touch her with your psychic powers _or _with your hands," Ash snapped, now no longer thinking clearly enough to care if Mewtwo killed him. "If Charizard beats the other two, you give up. I don't want this to end with someone getting killed, but if it's you or the world, the world is more important then your _pathetic fucking life_."

That outburst scared Ash: that wasn't him. He _never _got that mad. Was this what it was like, having Giovanni's temper? Serena got hurt, yes, but… he _punched _Mewtwo. The last time he tried something _that _stupid was during the last time on New Island, over six years ago. Mewtwo eventually flung him into a tower, only for Mew to save him.

Mewtwo scowled, but didn't retaliate, likely due to Sabrina: if he snapped Ash's neck, Sabrina would end him soon after, giving her own life to do just that.

"_Your Charizard is an anomaly,_" he finally stated. "_But an anomaly that will be dealt with. Blastoisethree, Venusaurthree! Destroy him!_"

'_Three?_' Ash thought. '_I know they're clones, but… Oh._' It might have taken two timelines, but never say Ash was stupid. Not having all the information makes _anyone _look like an idiot.

Mewtwo must've been part of a batch. One that included a one of each of the Kanto starters. Team Plasma couldn't've been involved with Team Rocket's Mewtwo: that was almost four years before the debacle in Unova!

The Blastoise and Venusaur rushed into the arena - roaring as they charged at Charizard, who looked at them and grinned. "Char…" '_Oh _fuck _yes,_' He laughed.

The clones glanced at Mewtwo, as if to ask for orders.

"Char!" '_Oh, go ahead_.' the battle-happy fire flyer said, all but smirking. "Zard!" 'O_ne by one, both at the same time; either way, _YOUR ASSES ARE MINE!'

Venusaurthree then spat out poison, as if hoping Venoshock would hurt him.

Charizard simply took to the air, avoiding the attack with ease, even if it was faster then he expected. But then, he trained dodging with Pikachu. Dodging a stream of poison was easy compared to dodging _lightning_.

"Char…" '_Do I take my time or just get this over with?_' Charizard asked aloud, even as Venusaurthree began zig-zagging around the arena, trying to avoid whatever Charizard had planned, the Blastoise clone taking aim with his two cannons before firing a Hydro Pump stream at him, making Charizard have to barrel roll to avoid the water.

"Char." '_Right, thanks for making my choice!_' he called before channeling fire energy into his maw.

"_I know every move. Every attack, every boosting and disabling ability there is._" Mewtwo said, worry in his voice. "_I don't know what that is. WHAT IS THAT?!_"

"Something only starters can learn," Sabrina replied. "You are not Charizard, Typhlosion, Blaziken or Infernape. You will never learn what this is."

Charizard rolled to avoid another stream of water before the ball of plasma reached critical mass. It was the end as he fired, the superheated lance of plasma slamming into Venusaurthree, making his flower catch fire and his skin dry to the point where it began flaking off.

"Charizard, stop!" Ash called, his fire-type rearing his head up and away from Venusaurthree, melting the walls and some of the seats, turning into molten rock as he directed the Blast Burn into the storm, parting the clouds briefly, then panting before seeing what he did.

"Char?" '_Holy shit, he got burned,_' Charizard said, horror in his voice as he saw that the clone was on the cusp of death, Blastoisethree desperately dousing the flames with Water Gun. "Zard!" '_Sorry!_'

"_I somehow doubt it._" Mewtwo spat.

"Charizard _wasn't _trying to kill Venusaur." Ash said, anger boiling as he defended his friend. "He likes a good, clean fight as much as I do. Fight until they can't, _not _until one of them is dead."

"_And yet, you would take my life to save this world,_" Mewtwo said. "_Your hypocrisy is telling._"

Ash glared at Mewtwo, the rage in his eyes at flashpoint. "I would _prefer _you to find a place in the world." he ground out. "Somewhere to live where no one would bother you. Where no human would want to go. I don't want you _dead_, Mewtwo, but if it's your death or the world's, the world is more important than _you_."

The look on Mewtwo's face showed that he saw that Ash was being sincere, if rightfully angry. All he wanted was to keep Mewtwo from killing everyone.

"_Perhaps. Your Charizard will not be victorious over Blastoisethree_." Mewtwo said. "_Not only is he a water-type, he is also genetically engineered to be stronger, faster and more resilient then any normal Pokemon of his line_."

"We'll see about that." Ash declared, looking at Charizard. "Kick his ass!"

Chiarizard beat his wings, going into a lazy hover. "Char!" '_With pleasure_!' the dragon said.

"_Show the inferior fire-type your true might_." Mewtwo ordered Blastoisethree, tired of these failures. "_We are the future_!"

Blastoisethree cried out before his shoulder cannons lined up on target, Charizard examining his claws as if he was bored.

He _was_.

Massive orbs of water shot out of the cannons, Charizard dropping a few feet to pick up speed, then dodged each Water Pulse Blastoisethree fired at him.

"Char." '_Come on, I'm getting BORED! Stop trying to hit me and hit me_!' Charizard declared, a Water Pulse skimming his left wingtip. But only because he was tired of this easy nonsense.

These clones were powerful, but Neesha and Corey were not exactly...inventive. They were very much by-the-book battlers. Ash, on the other hand, encouraged creativity, handicapping himself just to increase his flexibility.

Even Charizard showed this: power without skill was almost as bad as being completely and totally powerless. Ash made up for this with skill first, power later.

And after reverting back, they retained their skills… now they had gotten back to where they used to be and beyond.

Blastoisethree panicked, firing more and more water pulses before Charizard got too close, claws glowing green with draconic energy before the flame Pokemon swiped at Blastoisethree's head, knocking him back before Charizard landed, fighting-type energy replacing dragon as he shoved a Focus Punch into his chest, the shell cracking with how hard he was hit.

Pun unintended, Charizard was not pulling punches. The fate of the world WAS at stake.

Blastoisethree screamed in pain before Charizard torched his face with dragonfire and Focus Punched his chest again, cracking shell and bone before Blastoisethree staggered back, skidding before leveling his cannons, firing Ice Beams from them both, hoping to hit Charizard's wings.

Instead, Charizard tucked his wings to his sides once more, his right fist glowing white, his left sparking.

"When could Charizard learn Thunder Punch?!" Ash asked, shocked that this was a thing before the Focus Punch slammed into Blastoisethree's head, cracking the skull.

"Char!" '_I was shocked when I learned how to do it!_' Charizard said before slamming his Thunder fist into Blastoisethree's face, the blow making him step back while the electrical shock made him twitch involuntarily before Charizard jumped back, dragon energy covering his tail before smacking Blastoisethree in the chest with Dragon Tail, knocking him down.

Blastoisethree groaned from both the shock and blunt force trauma inflicted to his head, Charizard briefly making his claws turn metallic… then he reverted them to normal. He was beaten. Killing him was too far.

"Char." '_Stay down,_' Charizard ordered before beginning to walk back to Ash. "Zard." '_I'm bored and very sore. Don't force me to do anything we'll both regret._'

Mewtwo stared in shock at his defeated clones, unable to process how they lost.

"Trust, care and friendship, Mewtwo." Ash said, smiling. "I care for the Pokemon under me, I consider them friends and I trust them completely. _That's _why we won."

"_No,_" Mewtwo said, making Ash turn his head towards Mewtwo. "_There is an element I missed. I will not accept this._"

"Oh, com' on." Kyoji slurred as he got out of his crater. "As' kick yur ass. Why you keep bein' stupid?"

"_Emotions do not equal power,_" Mewtwo said as he began floating up. "_And I have a long time to experiment._" With that declaration, the Pokeballs that were used last time teleported in.

"_Your Pokemon will be taken, studied and cloned,_" Mewtwo declared. "_And if any of you attempt to interfere…_" Mewtwo directed his gaze at Sabrina. "_I know Self-Destruct. You will not survive the force of a nuclear detonation._"

"That'll kill you, too!" Neesha said, horrified. "You can't teleport and use it at the same time!"

"_Then it is best you do not interfere,_" Mewtwo said as the balls went forth.

"Destroy them!" Ash yelled before he was psychically flung towards a wall.

"_You have annoyed me for the last time. Goodbye, Crown Prince of Rota,_" Mewtwo sneered as the balls went forth and Ash was flung into the ventilation system and the balls began their relentless pursuit.

* * *

**New Island - sub-basement levels - 1015 hours local time**

* * *

"I get the feeling they just make these times up for no reason." Meowth said as he looked at the time. "10:15 in da morning? That huge paragraph can'ta taken more then 30 minutes!"

It took an hour and a half for the others to get there. There is a near-literal hurricane out there, you stupid cat. _You _try flying in 150 kph winds without getting yourselves killed.

"He's got a point, Meowth." James said as they came up to a ladder, Jessie climbing up it and lifting a floor panel, revealing what looked like a laboratory filled with weird machines.

"Oh, not dis place again. I don't wanna get cloned." Meowth said, bringing his tail around to prevent ant machines from plucking any hairs.

Mewtwo's Pokeballs then started flying in, Meowth ducking behind Jessie to avoid getting caught as they flew into the larger machine, which then started replicating the DNA of every Pokemon in the pseudo-Master Balls.

"We're gonna have an army of clones soon!" James cried before they heard very angry yelling from the chute. Angry, familiar yelling.

"It can't be the-" Jessie started before Ash Ketchum fell out of the chute, meeting their gaze.

"I do NOT have time for you three!" Ash growled as Ash dove into the cloning machine.

"You and about three other people." James said in mild depression.

We find you annoying. The only reason we haven't had you axed is popularity and the simple fact we have a use for you. Good thing you're the only ones that can hear us.

James bit back a retort as the massive cloning machine started to smoke, spark and explode, the balls falling out of the machine and exploding, releasing Pokemon of all kinds, including Ash's infamous Pikachu.

Said Pikachu looked at them and growled before Ash crawled out of the machine, in sheering pain.

"No more mister nice guy," he all but snarled. "I offered peace. NOW I give war."

* * *

WARNING: DATABASE CORRUPTION. WARNING

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: That… was annoying. A few things. One: Grimsley. He LOOKS like Ash. Compare his **_**Sun and Moon**_ **appearance to Ash's original look and you can draw the conclusion VERY easily. Two: Mewtwo. If you can guess who we modelled his mannerisms after, you get a Pokemon for the next arc. If you can't… well, can't say we didn't make it somewhat clear.**

**117Jorn: Yeah, we can't make it much clearer than that… *puts on a pair of black sunglasses and trench coat* If you can't figure it out from that, there's something wrong with you… now if you excuse me, I have a mansion to… clear out… *walks away***

**Takeshi Yamato: Wonder if he needs any help? I've got a spare Phaser or two I could lend him.**

**Ron the True Fan: Well, there goes THAT contest. Mewtwo will be humbled. Make no mistake. He is screwing with something he has no idea how to truly deal with. Don't stare into the abyss. Just ask Sabrina.**

**Ja Ne!**


	30. Chapter 29: Gods and Mice

**Ron the True Fan: (Pac-Gibles orbit) …DAMN YOU, YOU ADORABLE LAND SHARKS!**

**Takeshi Yamato: Cute. Ron's #1 weakness.**

**Thor: Clearly, these strange creatures are full of surprises.**

* * *

**New Island - Gathering Hall - 1020 hours local time - Day 100 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

The threat of nuclear annihilation was enough to make even Sabrina pause, Kyoji noted as Mewtwo stared them down.

Guns were useless: if they didn't work on Sabrina - Misty had a tale to tell about _that _\- Mewtwo was just as immune.

"_Your end is coming, humans_." Mewtwo said, smug as sin itself. "_Soon the storm will begin to consume Kanto. Johto will follow, along with Hoenn, Orre and Unova. A clean slate_."

Kyoji - who had been pulled out of the crater, and multiple bruises on his body - looked at his watch. "Yeah, sure whatever…" He muttered.

"_Why are you acting so nonplussed?_" Mewtwo demanded. "_Waiting for something?_"

"Just for Groudon to come knocking, or the other Legendaries," Kyoji shrugged, "You're about to experience the ultimate smackdown when they get here."

"_You place too much faith in the creators._"

"And you place too little." The Ranseian countered.

"_Since when does Arceus do anything? We have not seen the Creator in over 5000 years._" Mewtwo said, amused at the thought. "_Dialga and Palkia haven't left their realms in millenia. Giratina is content merely to lord over the dead. Who do you place your faith in?_"

"Kyogre's got an ego." Misty said suddenly. "If anyone's going to flood the world, she wants to be it. She'll fight you out of spite. Groudon would end you, period. Yveltal-"

"_Do _not _talk to me of Yveltal, you broken little girl._" Mewtwo spat. "_Giratina's spawn would kill all of you as well as I: it is the ORIGINAL Shadow Pokemon! I will cleanse this world of the plague once and for all: both of humanity and those tainted by Yveltal!_"

Abruptly, the entire island shuddered - as the ocean began to bubble. Hot lava erupted from under the waves - as a new island rapidly began to take form. Kyoji looked… and he grinned.

"All hail…" he muttered, "...the King of Fire and Land."

**BGM: "Rebirth" from Godzilla: King of the Monsters**

The island erupted, as the newly formed volcano blasted soot and volcanic ash into the air - lava rocketing into the sky and pouring out as new land was formed. The raw heat emerging from it was blisteringly hot - most having to seek cover in what shade could be found. Then… a claw emerged from the lava, grasping upon the rim of the volcano, followed by another. Slowly, but surely, a burning red form emerged from out of the lava - its scales a bright crimson, and scorching red eyes. And as he emerged, a ray of sunlight burned through the storm with heat equally as hot - casting a shadow down upon the entire island.

Everyone was frozen - looking on with awe at the godly sight before them - eclipsing the sun behind him. The form scanned over them, before its eyes fell upon Mewtwo. And then… Groudon let out a loud, mighty, ear-piercing roar - reverberating the very air around them, bringing most others to their knees. "_GROUDOOOOOOONN!_" '_I HEARD YOU WERE TALKING SHIT MOTHERFUCKER!_' roared the demigod, his minor psionic powers translating it for the humans present.

"_I do not fear you, Continent Pokémon!_" Mewtwo spat. "_I am the most powerful Pokemon on this earth! I will crush you as easily as any!_"

**BGM: "Queen of the Monsters" from Godzilla: King of the Monsters**

The storm intensified, Mewtwo losing control of the clouds before a loud, ear-piercing song could be heard. Groudon's gaze looked more pissed than before.

"...aaaand here comes the Queen of Ice and Oceans." Kyoji sighed - as he and Sabrina ducked under a table.

A whirlpool emerged from the ocean - opposite to Groudon. The storms coalesced around it, lightning striking it several times, the waves churning faster and faster. Waterspouts appeared as they circled around the island before water erupted from the whirlpool - and leaping up was none other than the blue-scaled form of Kyogre.

"Kyogre!" '_You will not wipe the lands clean._' chimed a female voice, clearly that of the whale-like legendary. '_My war is with Groudon. There are no others to aid or oppose us!_'

Mewtwo charged Shadow Balls in his hands, anger evident on its face, only to hesitate as more lightning struck the tower, a quadrupedal form soon appearing, covered in black and yellow, with a tail tipped with a lightning bolt. The form used Thunder on Mewtwo, who deflected it, only for a Fire Blast to impact him from behind, nearly knocking him on his face.

"Raikou." Misty muttered as she looked at the legendary beast as he jumped to the arena floor. "Entei."

A beam of aurora-colored energy smacked into Mewtwo, coming from the last of the legendary beasts of Ecruteak as she landed on the stands, having run from shore.

Thunder intensified over the oceans once more, in such a way that Iris gasped in terror. "…Not him…" she muttered.

"Who?" Anabel asked, confused. "It's not Raikou doing that?"

"That's ZEKROM!" the dark-skinned girl yelled. "Zekrom hasn't been seen off Twist Mountain's peak for over a thousand years! And anyone trying to catch it… dies."

The heat intensified as something added to it. "…Uh… Does Zekrom have a brother?" Serena asked, nervously looking at the exotic looking girl, her more _adventurous _self wondering if she was a natural purplette.

"Sister, actually." Iris said. "Reshiram. But she's… gone."

"Apparently not." Sabrina deadpanned from under the table.

"Oh, here comes the Kings of the Wind and Sky," Kyoji casually pointed up - as two Rayquazas descended from the clouds - one a bright green, the other a pitch black.

"Rayquaza?!" Iris, Misty and Serena cried in shock.

"Wait, THERE'S TWO?!" Neesha shouted.

"Yeah, the green one's the one who inhabits the northern hemisphere, the black one is from the southern hemisphere." Kyoji said, "People tend to forget that."

Iris looked at the green one, smiling at it.

"Took a long time for me to catch up." said… her own voice before she looked to the source, finding a younger, shorter version of her looking up at the Sky High Pokemon. "Took long enough."

"…you _better _be using that Pokedex right now," Kyoji looked at Neesha. "Because this is your _best _chance to scan all these Legendaries in one place."

Neesha was _way _ahead of him - as were all the other Trainers with their dexes out, taking pictures of each of these Legendaries as if their lives depended on it.

Considering they were in the presence of the children of the gods and most of them were likely going to die, it fit.

"_This doesn't matter,_" Mewtwo stated. "_The age of Arceus is over. MY TIME BEGINS NOW!_"

The gathering hall exploded, clones of all their Pokemon emerging from the smoke.

A fin poked up from the floor, a darker shaded yellow land shark emerging from the floor and joining the clones.

"…Gible?" Kyoji tilted his head.

The darker-shaded Gible attempted to look menacing… but it sighed in defeat before happily waving at the others.

"…I _knew _Gibles can't be evil," Kyoji nodded in assurance.

"Gib!" The Clone Gible tunneled into the Earth, before appearing by Kyoji's side.

"…why _is it _always _the Gibles…?_" Mewtwo groaned.

"Gibles are friendly to a fault." came a voice they didn't think they'd hear again as Ash Ketchum came out of the smoke cloud, his Pokemon and all of the ones belonging to the people in attendance behind and beside him. "And that's something that's never going to change."

"Gib!" Kyoji's Pac-Gible leaped up from out of the ground, before looking at its clone. "Gib?"

"GIble!" The Cloned Gible cheered.

"GIBLE!" The two Gibles hugged one another - before CHOMPing on one-another's heads.

"…awwwww…" Neesha muttered, "That's _adorable_…"

"They're like brothers now…" Kyoji nodded - barely containing his own composure.

"Yeah, and-" Ash looked around - finally noticing the intense heat… and spotting a _significant _number of Legendaries surrounding New Island - Groudon and Kyogre glaring at one another, the Legendary Beasts standing defensively around the other Trainers, Rayquazas circling the skies, and Zekrom and Reshiram in the skies as well. "…the fuck…?"

"Yeah, things sorta escalated while you were gone!" Kyoji called out, tending to the Clone Gible - which happily CHOMP'ed his own head. At the same time, a darker green Natu popped in next to him, followed by his own Natu. And scattering up next to them were a pair of Galvantula's - one his, the other clone - which began dancing. "…I'm gonna have a cuteness overload here…"

"_What the hell…?_" Mewtwo muttered, wondering why _three _of his Clones had gone AWOL so quickly.

"Well, Natu's are believed to be messengers of Arceus, so I can't imagine one going evil," Kyoji said, "And Galvantula… they literally just like to dance,"

"...I am both terrified of the Legendaries, but these guys are keeping me calm and sane right now…" Neecha muttered, huddling with Kyoji's Pokemon.

* * *

Mewtwo looked at the demigods surrounding New Island. He could kill them all. It was within his power. It was _well _within his power.

He looked at Ash, _really _looked at the young man, as if coming to a realization. They wouldn't be here if _he _wasn't here. There was something… off about the Crown Prince of Rota. Why would a dozen (or more: he couldn't exactly tell what with keeping up the storm AND preparing to face off against the demigod children of Arceus) legendaries… be… here…

"_They're here… because of you,_" he said. "_Arceus didn't _need _to come here personally. He sent YOU._"

Ash wasn't some trainer, blood heir of Rota's crown or not: he was Arceus' Chosen Warrior!

"I wasn't sent here: YOU invited me!" Ash retorted, but Mewtwo wasn't listening. He had finally lost it.

He stopped charging the two Shadow Balls and reached out for Ash with all of his telekinetic might. "_Take this message personally, Creator! YOU LOSE!_" the Genetic Pokemon cried, flinging him towards the windmill tower, intent on seeing him dead. And at 300 kph, he WOULD die…

…if not for the timely appearance of a pink psychic bubble that _drastically _slowed his collision as he landed - still hurting - but still very much alive.

"Mew Mew? Mew!" '_Are you okay? Oh I am so sorry, I tried to move as fast as I could!_'

Mewtwo looked at the Chosen One's rescuer. She was small, with a pink, cat-like form and an absurdly long tail… like him.

Mew. The so-called New Species Pokemon, mother of all Pokemon species from the humble Bulbasaur to the exotic creatures known as Ultra Beasts.

His DIRECT progenitor.

* * *

The first thing to come to Ash's mind when he saw Mew again was '_Damn it, why the pink cat?_'

EVERY TIME he ran into a Mew, he DIED.

"I'm fine," Ash said, ducking as a Shadow Ball whizzed past his head.

"_YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE, CHOSEN!_" Mewtwo roared as he formed more Shadow Balls. "_YOU WILL DIE!_"

"Mew…" '_Someone's taking this personally._' the cat quipped, locking onto Ash and Teleporting him just as the Genetic Pokemon threw the balls.

"Mew." '_For what it is worth, Celebi has told me what happened. On behalf of our kind, I apologize._' Mew said before joining her children in the fight against Mewtwo.

The battle kicked off - as Mewtwo's clone army attacked their originals and the Legendaries, clashing with one another in a violent clash of titans as Gyardoses but one another, Kyoji's Charizard dueled with her own Clone in the skies (Ash's was taking a break, shouting helpful advice to her), it was just pure pandemonium… and meanwhile on the sidelines, another battle was being fought between Kyoji's Galvantula and his clone counterpart… by the way of a dance-off.

Hey, they were still fighting - it simply wasn't a _violent _battle.

Only one Pokemon wasn't involved in the brawl. Pikachu.

He refused to indulge his bloodlust. His Shadow nature was SCREAMING at him to take the fight to them, but he would not join the battle.

"Pi." '_So… you're me,_' said another Pikachu that approached him. He bore none of his Shadow taint.

Lucky him.

"Pika." '_I am not fighting you,_' Pikachu said to his clone, who scoffed, turning his tail to steel

"Pika." '_You presume I'm going to give you a CHOICE,_' Pikachutwo spat at his progenitor.

Pikachu narrowed his eyes. "Pika." '_You do not want this battle, kid,_' he said. "Chu-Chu." '_You do _not_. I'm a Shadow Pokemon. I'm not joining this brawl to the death because if I do… I WILL kill. And my brother is in no danger. Not this time._'

* * *

Mewtwo barely deflected a Thunder from Raikou, leaving him open to an Eruption from Entei, right before an Aurora Beam slammed into his back from Suicune.

"_You serve an unworthy god!_" Mewtwo roared, only to scream as a Fusion Bolt cracked into his side, making him cry out. Zekrom, the black giant of a dragon, partially emerged from the clouds glaring down at the clone.

"_You dwell under delusion. There is no idealism in you,_" psionically 'said' the Deep Black Pokemon. "_You will trouble us no longer._"

"_There is no truth in your beliefs,_" invoked his sister as a Blue Flare impacted a Protect field. In response, Mewtwo channeled fairy-type energy in his hands and fired a pair of Moonblasts at the Tao Duo.

"_Shut the fuck up about your FEELINGS!_" Mewtwo snapped before the earth erupted under him, forming sword-like shards of rock.

"_YOU shut the fuck up!_" Groudon countered as the Precipice Blades impacted the Genetic Pokemon's psychic shield.

Mewtwo roared, spewing ice at Groudon, making the master of land roar in pain. His victory was short-lived, struck in the side by an Origin Pulse. Kyogre apparently didn't like anyone attempting to kill-steal.

"_He is MINE!_" she cried, another Origin Pulse firing from her maw into Mewtwo's back, the Genetic Pokemon getting VERY annoyed at the second shot. "_Do you hear me, you abomination?! MINE!_"

Mewtwo snarled, only to realize what they were doing.

"_You will not stop me! HE WILL DIE!_" Mewtwo screamed as he looked for Ash - and spotted the young Chosen One running across the battlefield. "_YOU!_"

"Oh shit." Ash muttered, as he was frozen in place by MewTwo's psychic powers.

"_DIE CHOSEN OF ARCEUS!_" And with a mighty push, he flung Ash away with as much Psionic force he could muster.

* * *

Ash resigned himself to his fate. Mew was too busy with whatever her plan was, Suicune was blasting Mewtwo… in short, he was dead.

But he could take comfort in one fact: Pikachu would get it done. Cyrus wouldn't kill the universe a second time because Pikachu would end him.

He opened his eyes, ready to meet death face to face. He would not turn away.

Then he stopped, going forward and upward again.

"Huh?" he asked, confused before seeing… red. And marigold. He was in the talons of a giant bird.

"_You are banished from death, child, so long as I draw breath,_" said a woman's voice, making him look at what was carrying him upward.

It was Ho-Oh.

"…I face death with dignity and _this _happens." Ash muttered. He may have not been truly suicidal, but he was willing to die for a good cause.

"_One of my kind caused you pain,_" Ho-Oh said, closing her eyes, raising her head and pointing her beak towards New Island. "_I and all of us owe you, Chosen One._"

Ash looked at Ho-Oh… and it clicked. Seeing that form, that familiar form again… the memories… all of them, of his life and… his father. His _real _Father. It all just… came back all at once.

And after 8 years, his traumatized mind finally forced him to scream.

* * *

Mew sighed. Shadow Pokemon _sucked_. Giratina screws up ONCE and gives an organization access to a corrupting agent that makes them powerful and insane. No wonder it hid in the Distortion Realm so much: shame was a powerful motivator.

She looked at the returning Ho-Oh, Ash Ketchum safely in her talons. Celebi didn't do a good job piecing his two minds together. She was a time traveller, not an expert in mental reconstruction. At this rate, it would take Arceus itself to put his mind back together properly.

But Arceus did not have time and Ash's incredible will was keeping him together well enough. Enough to use what was locked deep in his mind against Mewtwo.

When he and Celebi came back from that dead timeline, Ash saw the Distortion Realm as only Giratina and Arceus could see it. Mew was amazed he was still alive, let alone _sane_.

She went there once. Giratina panicked and put up a distortion bubble to save her from the insanity of the realm of the dead.

Well, no time to be gentle. They may have been Arceus' demigod children, but Mewtwo outpowered them all, if only barely. They needed a solution and fast.

* * *

Kyoji and the trainers watched in horror as Ash was sent flying away, only to gasp in awe at the sight of Ho-Oh as the legendary bird circled around, and put Ash back down. The storm _finally _began to part ways, giving birth to a new sunrise in the distance with the arrival of the Rainbow Pokemon.

"Ho-Oh… huh…" Kyoji muttered from his place next to Sabrina. "Ya know… I remember there being a legend that, if you see Ho-Oh, you should make a Wish, because it would come true…"

"I heard that too…" Sabrina nodded, "…what do you wish for?"

"For Ash to grow a brain and accept his damn harem…" Kyoji muttered, but internally he thought '_For Sabrina to become my Girlfriend…_' Of course, he forgot one important thing…

Sabrina blushed a bit, before she smiled at him demurely. "Wish Granted."

Kyoji blinked "Wait, what-" he began to say, before Sabrina wrapped her arms around his shoulders - and planted a kiss right on his hips - stunning the Ranseian trainer into awestruck silence. His Gible and the clone jumped happily next to the two, and the Natu's nodded in approval.

She pulled back after a minute, not only to let him breathe, but to process the idea that he was kissed.

"I… I…" he muttered before managing to re-rail his train of thought. "I thought I'd have to win you over! I mean, you're a psychic, you're a gym leader, Ash is your dad-"

"I'm a psychic, true," Sabrina said, silencing him. "And even if I met anyone I liked… the moment they saw me, or knew who I was, I'd lose any chance of getting to know them outside of reading their minds."

The greenette smiled. "But you aren't scared of me. You didn't know my reputation before we met. As for dad… I think he approves."

Kyoji continued to process this as Ash's Krokorok fired at Mewtwo with a particularly powerful Dark Pulse, as if trying to kill Mewtwo.

"KROOOK!" roared the dark croc, forcing more and more power into the pulse. Enough that his body couldn't take it.

Evolution took over, natural instincts to survive forcing him out of his second stage.

"Oh, he evolved." Kyoji mused, before Sabrina flinched a bit. "You okay?"

"Fine… just… dark-types," She sighed, "As you know, Dark-types are strong against Psychics, so even for me… being in the presence of one can be… _startling _in my mind."

"Oh…" Kyoji nodded, comprehension dawning as he smirked a bit. "Oh it must _suck _to be Mewtwo right about now…"

"It will. It will just take a moment for him to…" Sabrina said, only to pause and look at the small pink cat dodging Shadow Balls and Dark Pulses in abject horror. "NO. No, that is inhuman! Don't do it! Not even _Mewtwo _deserves that!"

"What?" Kyoji asked, looking between Sabrina and Mew. "What's happening? What's going on?"

The Mew's face stopped looking playful, like she was… doing something she didn't want to do.

* * *

Mewtwo forced Raikou into the melted stands, snarling. Raising his hand, he prepared to Shadow Ball Entei, only to hesitate as he felt something in the back of his mind.

"Mew." '_I am sorry child._' the pink cat said, sounding senere. "Mew." '_But you pose too much of a threat. You will overpower us given time_.'

"_Acknowledging my might will get you… no… where…_" Mewtwo said before he fully comprehended what the 'something' was: a telepathic tether. "_What are you doing?_"

"Mew." '_Forgive me, both of you_,' Mew said as Mewtwo felt the tether connect to something off to the west.

In the talons of the local Ho-Oh, he saw Ash Ketchum. It would be the last coherent thought he would have for a _very _long time.

Two people screamed as one.

* * *

Ash cried out, grabbing his head with his hands. Ho-Oh looked ashamed as she closed in on New Island.

Mewtwo convulsed in mid-air, his psionics failing him. He screamed vocally, slamming into the ground, even as Raikou got himself out of his hole. He and the Legendary dogs looked at Ash, making their own version of a wince and making their way to Kyogre.

And as all but Ho-Oh made their way to leave, the Rayquazas gave a glare at the Weather Duo to make them go, Ash realized what was happening to Mewtwo.

The same damn thing that happened to _Sabrina_.

"…Ash?" Misty spoke up, approaching the trainer with the other girls (plus Kyoji and Sabrina) towards the fallen form of Mewtwo. "…are… you okay?"

Ash twitched as he saw visions of a spotted trio of Kanto starters… and a young girl. "No." he said, admitting he was anything but. "I don't think I am."

Mewtwo cried as he was forced to see what no one should see, know or understand, curling up into the fetal position. Ash saw his fellow clones… his _family… _die.

Mewtwo wasn't just jaded because of Team Rocket. He lost everything and was lashing out. He never figured out what happened last time. Maybe both times it wasn't just Mewtwo having enough of Giovanni's shit.

And Ash could relate. He _did _punch Mewtwo in the face just for hurting Serena.

Neesha, Corey and Fergus poked their heads out from chunks of debris caused by the destruction of the hall, using them for cover. "Is it over?" Fergus asked, scared out of his mind.

"It is now." Ash said, pity in his voice for Mewtwo suffering what he saw when he went back.

"Look…" Corey said, shaking his head. "I was stupid. I ain't catching that thing. That thing fought _Arceus knows_ how many legendaries off and..._Fuck_ that!"

Neesha nodded, agreeing. "_You_ catch the damn thing. Just keep _us _away from it!" she said.

"Mew." '_He is neutralized_.' Ash looked up, spotting Mew floating in, an expression of disgust on her face. "Meeew." '_I am sorry for doing that, young one. But he would have defeated all of them, given time_.'

"And that justifies making him look into my head?!" Ash snapped. "A psychic-type _killed _itself looking in there. Sabrina erased her own memories to forget! I wouldn't wish that on _anyone_!"

"Mew." '_Not true. You would wish it on a man with blue hair._' Mew replied. "Mew-mew." '_But that's here nor there. We have greaved you, young one. And we will trouble you no longer_.' Mew turned around, preparing to leave. The battle was over, with the clones and their progenitors either too tired to continue or knocked out.

"What about them?" Ash asked, gesturing at the clones, exhausted from fighting their progentors and hurt from the collateral damage caused by the battle between the gods..

"Mew." '_I have seen a location in your mind to put them_.' she replied. '_They will trouble no one and no one will trouble them. As for Mewtwo…_'

"MAKE HIM CATCH THE DAMN THING!" all three of the other trainers cried at the same time. "That thing's too dangerous to be left in the wild!" Corey then added.

Ash opened his mouth to speak against it, but one of the pokeballs on his belt detached.

"No!" he cried as the red and white orb smacked into the immoble Mewtwo, turning him into energy and drawing him in.

The orb didn't even shake once as a sign of resistance before clicking and securing the Genetic Pokemon inside.

"Mew." '_This is necessary, young one_.' Mew said, as if explaining to a child. Which, Ash figured, was true, but still, he didn't like being talked down to. "Mew." '_It will take him some time to recover from the experience. And he will need your assistance in recovering_.' Her piece said the New Species Pokemon teleported away. The storm was finally dying off as the once controlling it disappeared. The clones started to teleport away with Mew, one by one.

The only Legendary that remained was Ho-Oh, who was perched on the far end of the stands, opposite the trainers.

"_I am so sorry_." Ho-Oh said, spreading her wings, and, in a steady rhythm, took flight. Passing over them, she gave out one last call, before disappearing over the horizon.

"...I think I need to sit down." Corey said, falling on his ass.

"You and me both." Fergus said, walking towards a wall and leaning on it, slowly sliding to the floor.

"Natu." '_Want to go home?_' asked Anabel's Natu.

Ash nodded. "Home." he muttered, feeling like he was on the verge of passing out. "Home sounds good."

* * *

**Pallet Town - Oak Ranch - 1123 Hours Local time**

* * *

Samuel Oak had seen many Pokemon in his time. But the wireframe on the monitor was new.

And it was Ash's.

"I take it Ash solved this problem?" came his wife's voice from behind him, making Samuel look over his shoulder.

"Can you just knock on the door?" he asked.

"40 years ago, you didn't complain." Agatha replied, smirking as she looked at the old CRT monitor. "You didn't answer my question."

"He did. The 150th Pokemon discovered in Kanto." he replied. "I guess I'll have to revise the lists again."

"And the boy?" she asked, more gently. He was her grand-godson, after all.

"Mourning." he replied. "He _remembers_."

* * *

**Outside the Ketchum Residence - same time**

* * *

Kyoji made a tactical retreat from the Ketchum home. In less flattering words, he was running from a VERY pissed off Red and Yellow.

'_Why the FUCK are they going after ME?!_' Kyoji cursed as he put his Shinobi training to the test to run as fast as he could from the Ketchums who pursued him. '_I literally had NOTHING to do with this!_'

Red and Yellow were of course VERY protective of Ash - and had spent a long, _long _time keeping Ash from remembering his whole… third degree burns thing… and now thanks to Ho-Oh, Ash remembered…

…and somehow, in the minds of the 9 and 12 year olds, they decided to blame _Kyoji _for their brother's current state.

How they rationalize _that _in their prepubescent minds is _beyond _him. Sure, he was the one who _told _them what happened and all, but why shoot the messenger?

They loved their brother too much to care. Serena and Misty were making sure he didn't fall asleep, leaving them to go after him.

And they were RELENTLESS, barely two steps behind him.

There had to be a way to…

Well, it worked back home.

* * *

**BGM "Alert Theme" Metal Gear Solid Soundtrack**

Sabrina walked down the paths of her adopted father's hometown, spotting Kyoji run past a bush, ducking behind a small hill.

And hiding inside a small cardboard box. Sabrina shook her head. That wouldn't fool whoever was after him.

Red and Yellow ran around the corner, looking at Sabrina "Where did he go?!" Red shouted.

…Or maybe it would. "He's heading for the Ranch." she lied. "Gible, or Garchomp, likes making big tunnels."

"He's gonna pay for making Ash remember." Yellow said. "He shouldn't've remembered."

As the two ran off to follow her lead, Sabrina walked toward the small hill, smiling as she tapped the cardboard box. "They're gone." She whispered.

"…I swear those kids are like bloodhounds…" Kyoji muttered as he popped out from under the box.

"They love their brother," Sabrina shrugged, smiling. "They… just need time to process it now, let Ash explain it to them."

"He better do it _soon_…" Kyoji muttered, standing up. "I can't keep avoiding them 24/7…"

"He's still processing this _himself_," Sabrina said. "Give him time. He's gotten over a lot of things."

"Gib," Kyoji blinked as he looked below Sabrina… and noticed the cloned Gible standing next to Sabrina.

"…wait, isn't that…?" Kyoji tilted his head, blinking as his own Pokeball activated, his original Gible popping out and the two Gibles cheered with one another.

"Well… I decided to keep some of the Clones, with approval from Mew." Sabrina giggled, petting the land sharks… as Clone Natu appeared on her head, and the Clone Galvantula crawled out of her backpack, waving at him.

"Well, I just hope Arceus doesn't… disapprove of me having a… girlfriend." he said, uncertain about Sabrina's status.

"You're helping Ash." she replied, shrugging. "I don't think Arceus minds if you keep it up."

"I know, but…" Kyoji sighed, "I… made a promise to give up my own relationships to help him, and she responded and… I sorta took that as a sign that I may never get a girlfriend, I mean… I was willing to accept it but then…" He blushed a bit, but Sabrina heard him say in his mind '…_then I met you…_'

Sabrina blushed a bit too, but smiled. "Well, maybe you'll be surpri-" she started before holding her left temple, groaning in pain. Then it happened.

'_Let no one say I don't reward those who serve my cause faithfully._' A mystical, masculine-yet-feminine voice said in Kyoji's mind - causing both him and Sabrina to jump in surprise. '_And… consider this a bonus…_' There was a noticeable SNAP sound as Kyoji winced - his head burning like the worst case of brain freeze that could ever be imagined.

"Kyoji? Are you okay?" Sabrina asked.

"Gib?" '_Yeah, are you okay big brother?_'

"Yeah, yeah…" he groaned. "I'm fine you…" He froze as his eyes widened. "Wait…" He looked at Gible. "…say that again…"

"…Gible?" '_What do you mean?_' Gible asked, tilting his head, as Kyoji's eyes widened.

"…I understood that…" he muttered, as Sabrina blinked.

"Wait…" She said, "Did… Arceus just-"

"I CAN UNDERSTAND POKEMON NOW!" Kyoji shouted, pumping his fists into the air in victor. "THANK! YOU! ARCEUS!"

"GIB!" '_YAY!_' *CHOMP*

He might've had Ash's little brother and sister after him...but Arceus clearly approved.

No one argues with the literal voice of god.

* * *

**DATABASE CORRUPTED: DATAMINING IN PROGRESS. PLEASE STAND BY...**

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: That was short. But let's be honest: This is MEWTWO we're dealing with. By Gen 1 standards, he's basically **_**god**_**, and we used Gen 1 standards for that fight. The legendaries knew the threat - well, Kyogre doesn't like competition - and responded in kind. In the original timeline, they didn't need to send anyone but Mew: Ash had it covered. Here? Look not into the abyss that is the neitherworld. It'll kill you.**

**117Jorn: *watches Chibi versions of Kyoji and Sabrina hold hands and kiss* …aaawwww…**

**Ron the True Fan: …still on that? **

**117Jorn: Ash has a **_**literal **_**harem of (thus far) 5 women, and Dawn is out of Kyoji's reach because of it. *pumps shotgun* Let him - and me - **_**have this**_**. **

**Ron the True Fan: Ok, then. I've had enough buckshot fired in my general direction. Movie 1 is over. And because this is short as hell, the next chapter will be out sometime in the next couple of hours. Thank Arceus for backlog.**

**Takeshi Yamato: True enough.**

**Ron the True Fan: We're in the endgame for Kanto. Only one thing remains: the League itself.**

**Ja Ne!**


	31. Chapter 30: Aftermath

**Ron the True Fan: It's the sequel we've all been waiting for! (CHOMP!) …Yeah, was watching TFS Hellsing Abridged again. It is almost time for the League. Almost.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Gonna be fun.**

**Thor: Indeed, competitions are always entertaining to watch. Especially when there is no matters of life and death on the line, just honor and glory!**

* * *

**Pallet Town - Oak Ranch - 1257 hours local time - Day 105 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

The life of a military man could very much be summed up as 'hurry up and wait'. Kyoji Akamura was familiar with this. Until he was sent on this seeming suicide mission, that was very much his life: sitting on his ass, writing reports that all he had done that day was sit on his ass and occasionally try his luck at the dating game.

Then he met Ash. And other than dodging his younger siblings… every day was a new adventure. He LIKED it. But he had to make his report to command so they didn't write him off as dead or MIA. Or worse, AWOL. THEN they'd send an execution team after him. Ransei's security outweighed the life of one man.

It was cold, but it kept people away for almost 60 years.

"Am I missing anything, buddy?" Kyoji asked his yellow land shark, who blinked dumbly at the laptop screen before looking at his trainer.

"Gib?" '_You know I can't read that human stuff, right?_' the land shark asked.

Kyoji grinned. Five days and he was still over the moon about being able to understand Pokemon.

"Maybe I should teach you." he said before rubbing both sides of Gible's fin, making him eyesmiled and want to lie down, making him make a happy 'Giiiibbb…'.

Still, he had to send off this report. It was a good thing he could piggyback off the remaining satellites in orbit to get a signal back home. Ransei DID help put them up, after all. They may not give two craps about Kyoji himself, but they certainly did care about the intelligence he provided.

"Ok...detailing how I met Ash…" Kyoji said as he proofread the report. "The whole Cinnabar thing…New Island... " he looked at Gible. "It's been an adventure."

"Giiiiiiib…" '_Keep petting me_…' Gible warbled, Kyoji continuing to pet the yellow land shark, making him warble happily.

* * *

At the same time, Pikachu and Riolu were trying to get Ash out of his funk.

As soon as he got back from New Island, he sat down and cried. This had been going on and off since he got back.

"Ri?" '_Ash?_' Riolu asked, jumping on the bed, Ash still stuck in his own mind. "Rio?" '_Please, talk to us._'

Pikachu just sighed as he nudged Ash. "Pikapi?" '_Ash, please. We're starting to get really worried,_' he said. "Pika." '_You haven't done this since Latios died._'

Ash sniffed. "…He cared here." he whispered, making both of them turn their heads fast enough that they swore they got whiplash. "I… I kept saying he was a son of a bitch and he CARED here. I had a father that gave a damn and…"

"Pikapi." '_Ash, calm down,_' Pikachu said. "Pika." '_You couldn't've known. You DIDN'T know until that fucking cat tore into your head just to make Mewtwo compliant._'

Riolu jumped up and gave Ash's head a hug. "Ri." '_You are not alone,_' the Emanation Pokemon said as he held on. "Riolu." '_We are here. And we will help._'

Ash nodded weakly before something nudged against his door, making him turn his head towards the noise.

Three egg capsules were sitting there, keeping the eggs at a constant temperature as well as protecting them from the elements.

"Why'd you bring the eggs up here?" he asked, getting up to look at the ovaloid objects.

"Ri." '_Well, I noticed the levels or Aura within them begin to grow greatly this morning and I asked Mr. Akamura to assist me in bringing them here while Cyndaquil distracted Red and Yellow,_' Riolu explained.

Ash blinked cluelessly. "I'm not an aura expert, Riolu." he said gently. "Can you dumb it down?" then the eggs started glowing.

"Pika." '_They're about to hatch,_' Pikachu deadpanned, Ash taking that as a cue to get them the hell out of the containers, furiously unscrewing each top off before quickly and gently removing the blue egg first, placing it on the floor while getting the red one out next.

The yellow egg was last, Pikachu calmly steadying it before the first egg faded away, revealing a white-feathered bird that looked like a bigger Pidgey. At least that's what it looked like to Ash.

"Chirp?" '_Mommy?_' asked the bird. "Chirp!" '_FOOD!_'

"Ri." '_I will go get a bowl of berries,_' Riolu said, running out of the room to get bird feed.

The albino Pidgey continued chirping for food before the red egg hatched, revealing… another bird. This one had a longer neck and more slender body, with a longer bill, more like Fearow.

Speaking of Fearow, where was Spearow? He hadn't seen his first unwitting catch in over two months.

(At the ranch, a bruised and dazed Spearow groaned as Dratini wrapped him again)

"Chirp!" '_Mama! Feed me!_' cried the newly hatched bird, joining the first.

"Oh, boy," Ash said, even as Riolu came back, a massive bowl of berries in hand.

"Riolu?" '_Birds? That is somewhat cliche, no?_' he asked, even as he handed the bowl to Ash, who plucked out Oran berries to feed to the two newly hatched birds, the white pidgey being first, the long-necked-and-billed being next.

The yellow egg finally hatched, revealing another pale white bird, with a very long beak, short body and very fluffy wings.

"SKREE!" '_Feed me!_' cried the new bird.

They were giving him a headache… but really, it made him feel better.

He was REALLY screwed up. Maybe talking to that shrink would help.

* * *

**Indigo Plateau - Pokemon League Headquarters - 1320 hours local time**

* * *

Lance sighed as he called the meeting of all the Elite Four and living top eight gym leaders to order, Giovanni and Sabrina being the only exceptions.

He ran off to Johto to look for his son. She was with her father in Pallet Town and didn't need to be briefed.

"Alright, everyone, thank you for coming on such short notice," the Grand Champion of Johto and Kanto said. "I realize with the League coming up, you have challengers coming out the wazoo."

"I think I'm the only exception," Erika said. "I closed the gym to clean up my mess in Celedon."

"While I commend you doing your other job as gym leader, that doesn't mean you can ignore the other half." Lance said before coughing. "I presume everyone is aware of the… massive storm off Kanto's coast that Agatha has classified as 'Catagory Fuck You'?"

Bruno and Brock shared a brief chuckle while Lorelei facepalmed.

"I don't think anyone in southern Kanto DIDN'T notice." Blaine said, chuckling. "I thought my inn was going to go flying!"

"Anyway…" Lance said, continuing on. "We have determined the reason for it." he then brought out papers faxed over by Samuel Oak. "A clone of Mew caused that clusterfuck."

"…Who is STUPID enough to clone Mew?" Brock asked. "Everyone knows when you try that, you just create a new Pokemon species because Mew's DNA mutates too quickly! It's how we ended up with Porygon!"

Brock was correct: Porygon was the most recent example, but not the only one. The list included dozens, including Grimer and Muk.

"Apparently, Teams Rocket and Plasma," Agatha added. "They had the best geneticists on the planet create what is the closest clone of Mew in history. And what did they call it? Mewtwo."

"…they actually pulled it off?" Brock muttered, cupping his chin in thought. "How?"

"We'd have to ask the researchers themselves, but good luck finding them," Agatha shook her head. "But that aside, apparently this Mewtwo had a low outlook on humanity - after being Team Rocket's guinea pig, I could hardly blame him… but he was arrogant and narcissistic enough to wish for the destruction of all human and pokemon life on the planet, and repopulate it with his own cloned pokemon, bred with his ideals."

"_That_ was doomed to fail," Blaine shook his head. "Groudon would never have it, Xerneas would step in… hell, Kyogre would probably be mad if someone _else_ took her claim."

"They were…" Agatha pressed a button on the table - as images taken from the Pokedexes of the trainers present were shown, revealing… _many _Legendaries… at one spot…

Brock's eyes widened slightly "...there's never been a gathering of Legendaries like that, since…" he muttered.

"Since the Cipher War, yes." Bruno added. "The Battle of Ecruteak, if I remember correctly."

Those gathered bowed their heads in respect. That was not only the final battle of the Cipher war, it was also the most destructive: Ecruteak was laid to waste, the only building remaining intact being the Tin Tower.

With the burning of the Nihon capital, whatever unity they had left was gone and the URN descended into warlordism for nearly fifteen years.

Lance broke the silence. "The gathering of so many legendaries is worrying." he said. "Oak-Sensei's preliminary work has indicated those idiots created the most powerful Pokemon in existence, save the Creator, Arceus."

"Were I a religious person, I would call 'heresy'." Erika said. "Nothing is more powerful than the Creator."

"I agree, but in all honesty, Mewtwo is THE most powerful legendary we have knowledge of." Lance replied, looking through the papers. "Mew's flexibility was combined with amplified power. It's a good thing it's contained."

Daisy reached for the papers, then noticed something. "…Contained." she repeated. "Someone caught it?"

Lance gave them all a dead stare. "Yes… and guess who?"

There was a _long _pause, as Brock placed his head in his hands. "...the most powerful Pokemon in existence, save for the creator Pokemon…" he muttered. "Is in the hands… of a 14 YEAR OLD BOY?!"

"…basically," Agatha shrugged, "Ash was there first…"

"It's unlikely Ash will have the same delusions of grandeur as Ghetesis or Evice," Lance said, sighing at them panicking. "Ghetsis is an old man thinking he will rule the world and Evice… A Shadow Pokemon version of Aeroblast vaporized him."

"You sure about that?" Lorelei asked, as if giving that kind of power to a child was a good idea.

"Yes," said all of the gym leaders as well as Agatha, making the redhead sigh.

"Gang up on me, why don't you…" she muttered.

* * *

**Celadon City - Gaffery's apartment - 1402 hours local time**

* * *

Ash sighed. "I'm not sure how to start this." he said as he sat in a chair opposite the old man.

"Just tell me what you can." Gaffery replied. "I won't push you."

The Pallet trainer looked at the ceiling, closing his eyes. After what seemed like hours, he spoke up. "…I know who my father is." he finally said. "And I remember what happened to him."

"Oh, _hell_." his psychologist said, now VERY concerned for his patient. "Ash, I know everyone didn't tell you-"

"I was shellshocked into a near-coma." Ash deadpanned. "Red and Yellow weren't happy with Kyoji when he told them he knew and I remembered. And I made a web of lies to comfort myself."

"I don't want to sound insensitive, but you suffered _third-degree burns_. _With _your father shielding you from that Sacred Fire." Gaffery said as bluntly, yet gently, as possible. "You had the right."

Ash stopped looking at the ceiling and bowed his head. "I called him a bastard for abandoning me." he whispered. "He loved me." tears started falling from his eyes. "He _died _for me."

"Fathers protect their sons," Gaffery said, sighing. "It's what they're supposed to do. Even if it costs them everything." the old man looked at Ash. "I don't think he would've minded you cursing him out. He was a compulsive gambler, after all. He fell for your mother after losing a bet to her."

"What?" Ash half-cried and half-laughed. "H-how does that happen?"

"You actually wanna hear the story?" Gaffery asked. "_That _is something you'll have to ask your mother about…"

Ash chuckled. Picking his mom winning a bet, then his father marrying her...

He shook the images out of his mind. "Thanks." he said. "I needed this."

"Any time, kid." Gaffery said before the old man's Natu jumped on Ash's head and teleported him back to Pallet.

"May we live in interesting times." he said before his Natu landed on his head.

"Natu." he said, knowing what he said.

"I know it's a curse. It's true." the shrink said before pouring himself a glass of one of the few things Orre actually did well: booze.

* * *

**Pallet Town - Ketchum Residence - 1403 hours local time**

* * *

Serena cooed as she pet Ash's new birds.

Along with Ash, one of the few things her fractured self agreed on was a weakness for cute.

Ash's Gible was cute, but didn't seem to like her. Apparently, he wanted Ash with some girl named 'Dawn' from Sinnoh.

She would reserve judgement until she got a look at her. Part of her still wanted to 'eliminate the competition', but that more… lustful part of her looked at Misty and Anabel like they were her next victims and Iris… well, she was curious to see if the carpets matched the drapes, as the saying went.

That personality was, if nothing else… _adventurous_. Oddly enough, it felt like that personality was the only one _trying _to keep her other personalities in line… she had no idea how it _did _that, but… if it worked, it worked. If nothing else, it was better than them screaming at her like they had before.

'_...can you actually hear me?_' Serena thought to herself, curious if she'd get a reply.

"_Why wouldn't we?_" A snarky voice groaned, "_Its not like we can GO anywhere…_"

"_Oi, be nice._" A second, more… _seductive _voice chimed. "_Of course we can hear you, darling._"

'_It feels… different now, after the whole Mewtwo thing…_' Serena thought/spoke, gently petting the mystery birds.

"_Yeah, the fucker tried to get in here, but… well, I think she scared him off or something._" A more intellectual voice retorted. "_We were scared out of our minds when he came knocking, but she just… I would rather not describe what she did…_"

There was a perverted giggle in her mind "_Oh, I just sent him a few… images, is all…_" She laughed, "_If you really want to fuck with him next time you see him… ask him about 'Moantwo'._"

'_...okay…_' Serena nodded slowly. '_...so… what exactly do I call you?_'

"_W-whatever do you mean?_" A rather shy voice asked.

'_Well, if you're all in my head… shouldn't you each have your own names?_' Serena shrugged, '_At least that way, Ash - and me - can know exactly who we're dealing with at whatever time…_'

"_...I guess that makes sense,_" The Intellectual said. "_What do you want to call us?_"

'_Well first off… how many of you are there?_' Serena asked.

"_Let's see, one… two… three...about five of us… six if we're counting you as the core personality… just don't make any more of us, we don't want to work the room - we like the pool table where it is._"

'_Pool table? You have a-_' Serena paused, and sighed '_I almost fell for that._'

Then she heard the sound of pool table balls being hit in her head - causing her to jump a bit in surprise "_Fall for what?_" Her second voice asked.

Serena let out a loud, audible sigh '_Okay… that aside… let's get you in order. Have you called yourselves by any names until now?_'

"_Well, we've been calling the Yandere personality Yuno as of late,_" The second voice said, as the 'Yuno' personality growled. "_We watched one of those shows Kyoji had on his laptop, and we thought the female lead fit her to a T._"

'_...okay…_' Serena nodded. '_Who else?_'

"_Well, we've also got the intellectual here… she's pretty much a Kuudere…_" The second personality said.

"_...from studying the 'dere' tropes, I cannot argue with this…_" The 'Kuudere' personality said.

'_Awww, you sound cute._' Serena giggled softly. '_Hm… I think I'll call you Rey.'_

'_...this is acceptable._' The newly named 'Rey' acknowledged.

'_Alright, anyone else in there?_' Serena asked.

"_Well, there's also the Tsundere-_"

"_I'M NOT A GODDAMN TSUNDERE!_" A loud voice shouted, causing Serena to flinch a bit. "_Why are we fawning over Ash so much! Sure we can do nice things for him, b-but it's not like we really like him! I-Idiots!_"

'_...yeah, I'm naming you Asuka,_' Serena rolled her eyes.

"_Oh don't you dare name me after that stupid red-haired-HRM!_" Asuka's voice was muffled out.

"_Just be nice, Asuka,_" The second voice giggled. "_Alright, after her we've got the princess over here…_"

"_Hm,_" A prim and proper voice scoffed. "_At least you're admitting it._"

'_Oh, so Himedere._' Serena shrugged. '_I guess that makes sense…_'

"_Of course it makes sense, we ARE a princess after all,_" Princess said with a thick Northern Galar accent, and Serena could _feel _the eyes being rolled by her. "_If only Ash wouldn't take so long in asking our hand in marriage… we could be a queen by now!_"

'_Hold your horses Princess, he's got issues to work out first…_' Serena sighed. '_Okay, so that's four… so what do I call you? I mean… you kinda seem to be the… ringleader I guess?_'

"_Oh, me?_" The last personality giggled slightly. "_Well… the name… Jade has a nice ring to it, personally… and I just like to have fun is all._"

"_You frequently imagine making passionate love to either Ash, one of those girls or _both _at the same time!_" Asuka shouted. "_Mostly both nowadays, you _pervert_!_"

"_Better then Yuno gutting them like a fish._" Jade replied, Yuno grumbling in the back. "_I at least recognize he needs not just us, Serena Yeonne Gabena, but the other girls, too._"

"_Come on, we don't even like him!" Asuka snapped. "Even if he's nice...and the first person to see us for us and not some noble title...and he's handsome…_"

"_See what I have to deal with here?_" Jade muttered, as she sighed.

'_Well… keep it up._' Serena said before Ash's Spearow flew in, looking at the newborns curiously.

"Spear?" he cawed before Misty came in, staring at Spearow for a minute and shuddering before moving on.

Serena didn't know why. What was wrong with Spearow?

* * *

**Oak Ranch - 1426 hours local time**

* * *

"You have got to get out of that habit." Ash said to Gligar, who looked sheepish as his trainer led him back to the main part of the Ranch after his talk with the old man.

"Gli." '_I can't help it! After all that training, I felt like I was...better._' Gligar replied, making Ash give him a look. "Gar." '_Sorry._'

"I don't mind you using your training with McCann, but you aren't any better then any other Pokemon under my care." Ash said. "Charizard, Squirtle, Sliggoo: I give you the same treatment. I WOULD have brought you in for my gym battle with Blaine...if you didn't run to your little corner of the ranch. Again."

Gligar looked guilty at that. "Gar." '_I need to break the habit._' he muttered. "Gligar!" '_I want to be my old self again! And earn it this time: saving you was worth it, but this time I want to evolve in battle!_'

"Pika." '_Then quit fucking off to the darkest corner you can find._' Pikachu snapped, bat-scorpion and trainer looking at the electric-type, who simply shrugged. "Pi?" '_What? Tough love._'

Ash shook his head. "A gift and a curse." he muttered before seeing a yellow fin come towards him.

"...Gar?" '_Since when was Gible yellow?_' the Fly Scorpion Pokemon asked.

"Gib-gib-gib-gib-gib-gib-gib-GIB!" '_Hello!_' The yellow Gible launched out of the earth towards Gligar and…

*CHOMP*

Most of Gligar's body from the neck down ended up in the maw of the land shark, who simply warbled at making a new friend.

Gligar tried fighting him off before Ash and Pikachu heard leaves rustle, the latter sparking his cheeks threateningly.

Then the source of the noise came into view "Curse you, you adorable land shark, why do you always…" Kyoji said before seeing his Gible nomming on Gligar. "Oh. When'd you get a Gligar?"

"Last time? Sinnoh." Ash answered,calmly prying the yellow land shark off the winged scorpion. "This time, at Saffron City, right after I got shot."

"This is the first I've heard of it." the Ranseian said, walking over and literally taking Gible out of Ash's hands.

"Apparently, he hides in some corner of the ranch away from everyone." Ash deadpanned, giving him a look. "We're going to have to train that out of him."

"Well, for Gligars it kinda makes sense," Kyoji shrugged, "They like sticking to the dark - they don't like going out in the day because predators might see them - they're _far _harder to spot at night or in dark caves or whatnot. It's hard to train out millions of years worth of evolution."

"I guess, but still…" Ash sighed. "…so after I finish Kanto's league, where are you going Kyoji?"

"Sticking with you, obviously," The Ninja chuckled. "You're going to Johto next, right? I need to make reports of _all _the major regions, and send them back home. Sticking with you seems like the most direct route, and gives me the best amount of intel possible since you'll be visiting all the major cities of each region."

"Pika, Pikachu." '_I'm cool with it,_' Pikachu shrugged, "Pika, Pi… Pikachu." '_He's our new Brock - he does everything he did and more… plus the convoy idea _was _his, and it really does make sense._'

Kyoji grinned a bit. "So glad you think so, Pikachu," He said.

"Pika… PIKA?!" '_Yeah, no… WAIT WHAT?!_' He and Ash both suddenly looked at Kyoji. "Pi-Pika?!" '_Did-did you just…?!_'

"Understand what you're saying?" Kyoji nodded. "Yup. Turns out, helping you and fulfilling my promise to Arceus? Best decision in my life… granted it hurt like a _bitch _at first, like having your brain squeezed out of your ears, but now I can understand my Gible - and he is a _very _happy Land Shark now."

"Gible!" '_Yup! No more miscommunications!_' The Land-Shark agreed - digging back into the earth as his theme song played.

Gligar stared at the land shark as the music played out of nowhere. "Gli…" '_HOW._' he asked.

"I stopped questioning that a long time ago," Kyoji shrugged, as the Land Shark circled around them.

"…I don't really think I-" Ash started before the shinobi glared at him.

"If you're thinking of leaving them behind like you did on New Island, I am going to hit you." Kyoji snarled. "I get it: your heart's in the right place, but your brain clearly isn't working."

"First I have to figure out if I have to deal with that GS ball nonsense in the Orange Islands." Ash said, shaking his head. "Waste of damn time, that was. The only reason I didn't get on the first boat back to Kanto was the Orange League."

"They have a league?" Kyoji asked incredulously.

"Four gyms, no conference, no Elite Four." Ash answered, scoffing at the pointlessness of the whole thing. "I was stupid. I spent three months there and the only things I got for going there was Charizard finally listening to me and a trophy. And nearly dying thanks to some insane collector going after Lugia, which ALSO sent Pidgeot to Arceus knows where!"

"…wait, so he was trying to capture Lugia?" Kyoji rose his eyebrow at hat.

"No, _Collect_," Ash rolled his eyes, "Used these weird trap devices to catch him, and the other legendary birds - hold them up like Trophies."

"…that's fucking _stupid_," Kyoji mutters, "Not to mention wasteful… is that guy still around?"

"Hell if I know," He shrugged, "I can't imagine him doing it all over again with how insane the world is now."

"…still might be a wise idea to look into it," Kyoi said, "Last thing we'd want is to be caught with our pants down if this guy's still around."

"I have a good idea when he did that dumb stunt, but with everything changing…" Ash trailed off, shaking his head. "Let's go talk to Professor Oak. I want to know if I can avoid that stupid fetch quest for the GS Ball."

"Bitter, much?" Kyoji deadpanned, amused.

"I carried that thing around for _months_, lost it at least four times and what did I learn about it?" Ash snapped back. "Not a damn thing. I dropped it off at Kurt's and tried VERY hard to forget the damn thing existed."

"VERY bitter." Kyoji muttered.

* * *

"The GS Ball?" Oak asked, looking away from a monitor clearly showing data on Mewtwo.

"Yeah, Ash mentioned in the last timeline that you had him take care of something called a GS Ball," Kyoji shrugged - having followed Ash back. "Turned out it was some big nothing burger since nothing seemed to have come of it."

"Huh… well I'd like to punch my last timeline's self for being so ignorant then," Oak chuckled, causing the two to blink. "As it turns out, yes we _have _discovered a GS ball… it may be one of our most important finds in a long time…"

"Oh, why's that?" Ash groaned.

"You see… GS Balls were the _original _Pokeballs," Oak said, producing one of his own Pokeballs. "While the exact date of when these were created was unknown… legend says that long ago when Arceus came back for the Jewel of Life, a mythical hero used devices similar to Pokeballs to summon Pokemon to his side to help Arceus. Afterwards, when the warrior left, the people tried to mimic what he had done… but found it hard to understand the magic behind it."

As Oak said that, Ash began to internally groan '_Fucking time travel…_' he muttered, before he paused '_Wait… do I have to do all that… OH COME ON!_'

"However, the answer came from the people of the mythical land of Ransei," Oak said, as Kyoji perked up a bit at that. "When they were shown depictions of the hero and his devices, they worked with their greatest forgers to learn how he did it… and their efforts bore fruit with these." Oak presented them with an image of the GS ball itself. "The GS Balls… these are the _original _Pokeballs. So far, we've only been able to uncover empty, damaged versions… this is the first time we've ever discovered one that is not only intact… but it just might still hold a Pokemon inside."

"…wouldn't the Pokemon be dead by now?" Kyoji asked.

"Not necessarily," Oak shook his head, "From what we've gathered from damaged units, these ancient Ranseian metalsmiths were masters of their craft - they were able to do things that our modern balls could never do… namely, we believe their Pokeballs generate a near perfect stasis field within… meaning whatever Pokemon inside, could still very much be alive in there… the knowledge we could learn from it if we can figure out how to coax it out… from a time before the Cipher incident… who knows what could be inside?"

Ash nodded, then saw a Pokeball sitting in a stasis lock, the readout on the monitors indicating that it belonged to him and it was still occupied.

"…Professor… why is one of my Pokemon stuck in the ball?" he asked, the old man sighing.

"I was hoping to get rid of that damn thing." the old man muttered. "Serena sent it months ago after an attack on the _Germanic_. Apparently, your Sliggoo, as a Goomy, swallowed a Pokeball belonging to the attacker."

"Free Pokemon." Kyoji said, shrugging. "Criminal loses a Pokemon, you get it."

"It is far less easy and much more complicated than you think, boy." Oak said, pulling up the previous owner on a screen.

Ash glowered at the image. She had more wrinkles and stress lines… but that was Hunter J.

"…well she looks like an evil bitch." Kyoji muttered, "Who is she?"

"Hunter J," Oak sighed, "One of the top Pokemon Hunters in the world… and she's a cold-hearted bitch atop of that…"

"…and we have her Pokemon…" Kyoji muttered. "…so… what do we do?"

"Honestly, I'm content to let the damn thing die," the normally life-loving Professor said, getting a look of objection from both of them, though mostly Kyoji. Ash was more understanding of his position.

"That's the _last_ thing I'd expect from you, Professor," the Ranseian said, glaring at him. "That is a sentient being you have locked up in that thing."

"It's a Salamence," the scientist replied, Ash giving him a look of shock before sending a thought towards Froakie. He wanted to know HOW they got J's Salamence. "She trained that thing to only obey her. I doubt anyone could make it even remotely close to normal behavior."

Kyoji blinked… before slowly turning his head towards Ash.

"…I have HISTORY with Hunter J!" Ash said, knowing what he was thinking. "That Salamance tried to kill me more than once!"

"It's either that or let it die of thirst, Ash." Kyoji asked. "I mean, Pokemon can last a LONG time, especially pseudo-legendaries, but… that's something I wouldn't wish on anyone."

"There are a lot worse ways to die," Ash said, remembering the Tree of Beginning and the Victini debacle. "I've suffered a few of them."

Kyoji sighed. "Your blood starts to thicken, you get INSANE headaches, where you actually go 'get it over with and let me die', your kidneys shut down-"

"…you sound like you talk from experience…" Oak mentioned, looking a bit concerned at Kyoji.

"…when you're forced to live on the streets after getting your folks locked up, you have to go a few days without food and water sometimes…" He sighed.

"That's… worse then the ways I've kicked the bucket." Ash said, grimacing. "Flash frozen, absorbed…"

"Absorbed?" both of them asked, as if that was an option for death.

"Tree of Beginning. I am not going back there if I have a choice." Ash said before looking at Salamance's ball. "…rehabilitating one of Hunter J's Pokemon was not on my to-do list when I woke up that morning three months ago…"

"…well, coming here and becoming your wingman wasn't on my to-do list either," Kyoji shrugged, "Among… other things…"

"If you're going to do something so _painfully stupid_, could you at _least _have a few ice-types on hand?" the professor all-but-pleaded. "As well as Garchomp and my Dragonite? Salamence only respect power. It's half the reason they're all so dangerous: constant demand to prove who's top dragon."

"And the other half?" Kyoji asked, the professor sighing.

"Gender ratio. Male Salamence are less powerful than the females of the breed, but _infinitely _more aggressive." the Kantoan scientist explained, even as Gible (or Garchomp, depending) dug his way to the lab doors. "And female Salamance routinely kill trainers that they deem unworthy, so _that _is saying something."

"Well, I'm more than willing to help ya out, man," Kyoji nodded, "Maybe having a fully-grown Charizard around might help provide a deterrent."

"Ash's Charizard is four years old. He has a LOT of growing to do before he can be even _remotely _considered an adult," Oak replied. "But I've seen him in battle. He's as aggressive as a Salamence with the control of an Alakazam. Dangerous. You are lucky he obeys you, Ash."

"For the first year of me having him, he didn't." Ash replied before taking the ball. "I'll get Snorunt: maybe this'll help him evolve to Glalie again."

"Seriously, HOW am I just learning about that one?!" Kyoji asked.

* * *

30 minutes later, the professor's dragonite, Charizard, Sceptile, Garchomp, Snorunt, Riolu and Unfezent joined Pikachu to deal with the unholy monster that was J's Salamance.

And judging from Noctowl, Pidgeot and the other flyers, including Rowlet of all birds… needless to say, all hands were on deck.

"…like I said," Kyoji nodded, "You've literally got an Army at your beck-and-call… if that Salamence doesn't recognize you as the top Dragon with all this, nothing will."

Ash sighed. "They're not an army. They're family." he said before looking at Charizard and Pikachu, his oldest powerhouses nodding as one.

"They can be both," Kyoji shrugged with a chuckle.

"Alright, everyone." Ash called out, getting their attention. "I'm releasing Salamence! Get ready!"

Pikachu sparked up, Quilava's back caught fire, Froakie created a water knife and so many others prepared for battle in their own way. Even little Dratini took in a deep breath.

Ash triggered the release.

The ball opened, energy spewing out and reforming into a massive blue dragon with cheek and forehead horns his head and massive red wings on his back.

"_MAN!_" '_I am ready for battle, mistress!_' cried the Salamance, before looking around… and not seeing Hunter J. "Sal?" '_Mistress?_'

"Hunter J's not here, Salamence." Ash said, getting the dragon's attention. "And I don't think she's coming back for you."

"Ash, be careful what you-" Kyoji started before Salanance reared his head back, dragonfire boiling in his mouth.

"SAL!" '_What have you done to mistress?!_' The Salamance roared out.

"CHAR!" '_Shut the fuck up, you psychotic WELP!_' Charizard roared, slamming his foot into the ground with a resounding Clash - causing the Salamence to flinch for a moment. "Char." '_My Brother wishes to speak to you - and you WILL show him respect._'

"Chomp!" '_Grrrrr!_' Garchomp growled, standing next to Charizard with Sceptile.

Salamance looked at the Pokemon surrounding him. "Man." '_Weaklings._' he declared before using Dragonbreath on Ash.

It did nothing for one reason.

"Mi." '_Meany._'

Fairies were immune to dragonfire and Mimikyu abused this to shield Ash from the attack, Salamence roaring in rage at the rag-covered Mimikyu.

"Don't." Ash said firmly. "Your trainer abandoned you, Salamence. She left you alone."

"Salaman!" '_She did not! She will come for me! Or I will go to her once I kill you!_' Salamence roared before getting an Aura Sphere to the face by Riolu.

"Ri." '_You will stay down and listen._' Riolu said, paws glowing as he prepared to fight.

"Row." '_Listen to Ash, please. We don't want to fight you._' Rowlet pleaded.

"Salamence!" '_Begging for your lives will change nothing. Now, release me and send me to my mistress!_' Salamance demanded. "Ala-" '_Some of you might bring a fair-_'

Sceptile smacked him in the head with a Pound, slamming his head into the dirt. "Sceptile." '_It is clear we're not going to be _talking _him into submission, Ash._' Sceptile said.

"Char." '_Time for plan B._' Charizard growled, a disturbing smirk on his face. "Zar…" '_Have I mentioned I LOVE plan B?_'

"Please tell me plan B isn't what I _think _it is…" Ash pleaded before Charizard's claws turned green with draconic energy.

"Sala." '_Defeating me will change nothing._' Salamence spat. Charizard said nothing before roaring. Everyone instinctively backed off, Ash having to be dragged back by Kyoji.

"What are you-?!" Ash yelled before Salamance roared back, spreading his wings.

"This isn't a fight you want to get involved in, Ash," Kyoji said, looking at the two dragons. "Charizard's challenging him for his status as an Alpha. If Charizard wins, Salamence doesn't have a choice but to obey."

"But what if Sal-"

"It doesn't need to be said," Kyoji said, as he grinned. "I think your Charizard has this…"

Charizard spat out fire onto the dragon-type, Salamence powering through it to get to Charizard, but the younger dragon tucked in his wings, dropping to the ground before the dragon flew over him, Charizard rolling to use Dragon Claw on Salamance's belly, making him roar in pain before Charizard got back to his feet, latching onto the Dragon Pokemon's back as it flew into the lab building, his head making a large hole before Charizard dragged him out, Focus Punching him in the skull and slamming the dragon's head into the ground.

Salamence rolled, Charizard letting go and backing off, the quadrupedal dragon charging Hyper Beam to blast Charizard in the face. But Charizard charged, Metal Claw engaged before swiping at Salamance's head, bones cracking as the Hyper Beam went skyward, Salamence struggling to get it back in Charizard's general direction.

Charizard then grappled with the dragon once the Hyper Beam ended, jumping around and onto Salamance's back, biting into the dragon's neck.

* * *

Charizard enjoyed this too much. But none of them could blame him.

All Pokemon knew what it was like: the rush, the drive, the urge to enter combat. Some got their highs another way.

No one needed to know that Chanseys got off on healing.

Salamence took to the air, struggling with Charizard on his back before the dragon-type dunked them into a lake filled with water-types that saw them and got the hell out of there.

Salamance looked back to see Charizard, more pissed off than, well, DYING.

'_Why does everyone propagate that stupid myth?_' Charizard thought to himself before Salamance surfaced, rolling furiously in an attempt to get Charizard, quite literally, off his back.

Charizard grabbed Salamence's neck with his left arm, talons turning to steel before he raked them over the scales, making shallow, but noticeable, cuts before the Dragon Pokemon slammed into the ground, digging a large trench in the doing. Ivysaur was going to have to find a use for it, but he wasn't fixing it.

"Char." '_Submit._' ordered the Flame Pokemon before the claws regained their razor edge, ready to rip Salamence's throat open. "_Zarrrrr._" '_I SPECIALIZE in dealing with more powerful Pokemon then I am._'

"_Salam…_" '_What makes you the top Dragon over me?_' Salamence growled.

"Char?" '_What makes _me _a good Dragon?_' He asked, "_CHARIZARD!_" '_IF I WERE A BAD DRAGON, I WOULDN'T BE SITTING HERE, KICKING YOUR ASS, NOW WOULD I?!_'

Salamence couldn't argue that.

"Char!" '_SO! You call yourself a dragon? I've beaten the shit out of legendaries, super-powered clones and madmen! Go ahead and tell your mistress if you get out of here!_' Charizard roared, going somewhat insane. "ZARRRRRRRRRRR!" 'COME AND GET ME, I SAY! I'LL BE WAITING FOR HER WITH A WHIFF OF DRAGON FIRE! I'M AN UNHAPPY ARCEUS DAMNED TALE WITH A UNHAPPY FUCKING ENDING!'

Salamance looked into Charizard's eyes, making a low, fearful whine.

* * *

Kyoji blinked "Did Charizard suddenly get a Southern Galaran accent, or is it just me?" he asked.

"I don't know a damn thing about Galar, so I can't tell," Ash said as they slowly edged towards the sight of the landing.

J's Salamence was backing away from Charizard in sheer terror, looking behind and to the sides to find an avenue of escape. There was none: Kyoji and Ash could both see it as they were too close to the woods.

"Char…" '_Don't make me destroy you…_' Charizard growled.

Salamence seemed to wince for a moment… before finally, it wordlessly lowered its head.

"Told you he'd win." Kyoji said, nudging Ash.

"Char." '_You want to know why I won?_' Charizard asked before noticing Ash, smirking and pointing at his trainer. "Zar!" '_He taught me everything! Him and Pikachu showed me how to beat anyone stronger than I am! PIKACHU could have handed you your ass a lot faster than I did! But we could ALL beat you!_'

Salamance looked at the yellow mouse leading Ash's little family towards the site of his humbling, Sliggoo being helped by Squirtle and Ivysaur.

The dragon's eyes turned to Ash, shaking in terror before submitting to him.

"Uh… you don't need to-" Ash started before Kyoji shook his head.

"Ease him into it. One step at a time." he said. "Trust me. I've seen it before."

* * *

**Oak Lab - 15 minutes later**

* * *

"This… is not what I had in mind." Samuel said as Roggenrolla and the Clone Gible fixed the hole in his wall. "Your Charizard… _broke_ him?"

"Sounded weird, too." Ash said. "He basically yelled for Hunter J to come and get him… something about brimstone…" the professor facepalmed and groaned.

"Sweet Arceus, spare me from the Galaran accents," he said before his Dragonite cackled. He wanted to… play. "Palkia spare me-RUN BEFORE THEY START!"

The clone jumped into the ground before Roggenrolla ran from the building, firing rocks from her… organ before Kyoji got Ash into the lab.

* * *

**Database rebuilding. Please stand by...**

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: You didn't think we forgot about that Pokeball, did you?**

**Takeshi Yamato: Well… honestly I didn't pay it much mind. Ron was the one with the plan.**

**Ron the True Fan: Charizard is USED to fighting stronger foes then he is. Moltres, the fake Entei… do I need to go on? He's not the powerhouse of legend yet… but he's skilled enough to make up for it.**

**117Jorn: Either way, we wanted to add more lore behind the GS Ball because, like we said in the story, it was a big nothing burger in the original series. So this is a chance to make it so the GS Ball will be more than just a random item they pick up and haul around for like no reason. **

**Ron the True Fan: We have a low opinion of the Orange Islands. A VERY low opinion. So low, it's almost as bad as **_**STD**_**.**

**117Jorn: …now I wouldn't go THAT far… **

**Ron the True Fan: Close enough!**

**Ja Ne!**


	32. Chapter 31: Old Nemesis

**117Jorn: *Watches as the Gibles sleep* Awwwww…**

**Ron the True Fan: …WHY? Why must they be CUTE?!**

**Takeshi Yamato: It's what they do, Ron.**

**Shantae: It's like he can't fully comprehend that they're cute. (Gibles yawn adorably)**

**Ron the True Fan: (Suffers cute overload)**

**Shantae: …He CAN'T.**

* * *

**Route 1 - outbound from Pallet Town - 0947 hours local time - Day 108 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

A purple fin cut through the earth, orbiting the trainers.

"I cannot get used to the fact that he can just turn back into a Gible." Kyoji said as the land shark surfaced, eyesmiling at them before returning to the ground.

"I barely believe it myself, but given my life…" Ash said, trailing off as they began their trek from Pallet Town on foot.

Indigo Plateau wasn't that far, but the League was being pushed forward almost two months. 'To celebrate the reunification of Kanto', it was claimed, as the last two city states, Dark City and Maiden's Peak, both of which Ash avoided like the plague, had finally rejoined the central Kanto government.

Really, they had a good idea why it was _really _happening.

"One super-powered legendary and everyone soils themselves in terror." Iris said, feeding Axew an apple. "We beat Mewtwo. We should have the time to relax."

"Unfortunately, the League waits for no one," Kyoji said, "If Ash wants to get past the Kanto League, he needs to get there and register before the tournament begins."

"Why can't we just teleport there?" Iris asked, "I mean… we _have _Natus, don't we? And Sabrina too…" She glanced back, looking where Sabirna and Kyoji were - trailing behind the group… mostly for Anabel's sake. "And would you just get up here so we don't need to shout?"

"I'm just social distancing," Sabrina called back. "I can hear you clearly, and I can send you messages just as clear… not to Anabel of course, I understand why."

"And I'm not letting her walk alone," Kyoji said, walking next to her, and in an attempt to look sly held her hand - but failed as he still blushed a bit. "S-She's my Girlfriend after all."

"R-Right, thanks…" Sabrina nodded, as she blushed as well.

"…oh they are just adorable…" Serena muttered to herself with a giggle. '_I hope me and Ash can be like that soon…_'

"_Give it time,_" Jade said, "_We just gotta slowly peel the armor off…_"

"_As long as they stay away from MY Ash, they will be left in peace…_" Yuno growled.

"_Pipe down pinkie_." Jade groaned.

"We cannot simply teleport there because the Pokemon League Headquarters and the Indigo Colosseum are fit with teleport dampeners." Janine explained. "To prevent a similar blitzkrieg attack that brought ruin to the URN. They are only shut down for emergencies, sudden emergency meetings and necessary maintenance."

"It may surprise you, but I actually fly there." Sabrina said.

"How? You don't have a flying-type to your name." Ash asked.

Sabrina just gave him a look before she began to hover in place with Kyoji - who freaked out for a moment before realizing what was going on - before landing back down. "Psychic." She reinforced.

"…Right. Keep thinking like a normal person." Ash muttered as they pressed on.

"…I have been thinking of being a bit more… creative with it," Sabrina mused, smiling as she glanced at Kyoji. "Maybe wear a pointed black hat, carry a broom with me…"

Kyoji froze in place - biting his lip. "I swear it was a passing thought!" He cried out, but Sabrina just laughed.

"Kyoji, it's fine," She chuckled, "I'm flattered how much you try to keep your mind secure, but you can relax… I _know _you… and I actually wouldn't mind getting into cosplay."

"We can still hear you!" Misty called back. "And we REALLY don't want to know!"

"I'm allowed to be a little adventurous at my age, mom!" Sabrina replied, smiling.

"Don't call me that!"

"_SHE'S OUR DAUGHTER GODDAMNIT!_" Yuno shouted in Serena's head, causing her to flinch. "_I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE IF YOU-HRMG! GRRM! Hrm… hmmm…_"

"_Okay, Rey - please stop using Chloroform on Yuno - it will only make it worse._" Jade sighed.

"_I can't read when she's ranting._" Rey said in a monotone voice.

'_What do you read?_' Serena tilted her head in confusion. '_I have a library in my head?_'

"_Eh, kinda._" Princess mused, "_We view your memories and dreams like books and movies… the video store is mostly filled with some… XXX content with you, Ash and the girls… same with the bookstore, there is an entire _series _based off of '50 shades of Ash' that Jade likes to dive into-_"

'_Okay - I did not need to hear that!_' Serena sighed, her face burning red for a hot moment.

"_You asked._" Princess retorted. "_The only one who goes in there more than her is Asuka._"

"_I-I do not!_" Asuka cried out.

"_Yes you do._" Sabrina's voice suddenly came in, causing Serena to jump.

"_Aw, Sabrina!_" Jade gushed, "_How's it going?_"

'_Sabrina?!_' Serena glanced back at the Psychic. '_What-how-?!_'

"_Oh, I pop in here every now and then - nothing invasive,_" Sabrina said, as she smiled. "_Just to talk to your personalities… we play Paradox-Billiards-Vostroyan-Roulette-Fourth Dimensional-Hypercube-Chess-Strip Poker every sunday when I'm around._"

'_...do I even _want _to know?_' Serena asked.

"_It's really not as complex as it sounds._" Princess added. "_And sometimes Ash and Kyoji's Natus join in as well… though I swear they cheat…_"

"_Natu._" '_You can't prove shit._' A random Natu spoke in her head.

"…you okay Serena?" Ash asked, as Serena blinked as she realized Ash was trying to talk to her.

"…my mind is an extremely complex place, Ash…" She sighed. "I'm… trying to figure it out each day… but I'm fine…"

Ash smiled at her, making her heart skip more than a few beats. She blushed - and she could hear all her personalities go 'awwww' in unison.

"Well, the league waits for no one." he then said, pointedly trying not to look at her blushing face.

"_He likes you,_" Sabrina teased.

"_Natu._" '_And in breaking news, water is wet and Pikachu likes ketchup._' another Natu quipped.

This was going to be a LONG journey to Indigo.

* * *

**Near the entrance to Victory Road - 1302 Hours Local Time**

* * *

There was but one constant during the entire journey.

'_Dun, dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-_'

"It's weird hearing it in stereo…" Kyoji muttered, watching as their three Gibles dug beneath them in a loose circle as if racing one another.

"But they're so… cute…" Iris said as one fin dove under the ground.

Ash didn't see that guy with the Marowak on the road, but then, Team Rocket was less interested in trying to rob him this time around.

Maybe he'd see him at the League. He'd enjoy a good clean fight.

Serena, meanwhile, had… other problems.

Though they were related to the Gibles chasing one another, actually.

"_And they are off to the races, folks!_" Jade narrated as the Gibles races around the traveling group. "_Gib-Chomp is pulling a strong lead, with Mighty G tailing him - but what's this! Yellow Lighting is coming up from the rear!_"

"_Come on, Lighting…_" Princess muttered, "_I have 100 bucks on you!_"

"_Fuck Lighitng! Gib-Chomp's got this in the bag!_" Yuno shouted.

"_Gib-Chomp's old news, Mighty G deserves the spotlight!_" Asuka cried out. "_Go M.G!_"

"_Go Lighting._" Rey said in a monotone voice.

"_Natu._" '_Let's go Gib-Chomp! *Clap, Clap, Clapclapclap* Let's go Gib-Chomp! *Clap, Clap, Clapclapclap*_"

"_M.G! M.G! M.G!_" Yuno screamed in a mantra.

Serena just sighed… as she subtly waved a tiny flag '_Go Gib-Chomp…_' she thought to herself.

"How do they do it?" Misty asked as the land shark fins appeared and disappeared. "Do they use their arms to dig? Is it their horns? Their mouths? No one tells me!"

"I'm pretty sure they'd tell me if they wanted to." Ash said, his Gible briefly surfacing and eyesmiling for a second before diving back in.

After a moment, though, he poked his head back up.

"Gib?" '_Why do I smell someone using a lot of cologne?_' asked Gib-chomp as he surfaced, sniffing once, twice, pausing...and snarling. "Gggggggggggggggiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiibbbbbbbbbbbbbbb…" '_HIM_.'

Ash looked at Gible in confusion. Who would he… wait… there was no way in hell _he _was here.

"Finally. I was wondering when one of you pathetic Kanto hicks would get here." said a voice Ash hoped not to hear again for another four years as a form exited the cave leading to Victory Road.

"_HEY! JACKASS!_" Yuno screamed. "_YOU INTERRUPTED THE GIBLE RACES!_"

"_Yeah! Get off the road!_" Princess shouted.

"Ok, asshole, who are you?" demanded Misty before they saw the purple hair and jacket.

"Paul." Ash spat, remembering his Sinnohan rival. He had hoped not to deal with him for a VERY long time.

"Hmm?" Paul hummed before nodding to himself. "You're that crown prince. From Pallet Town. Your friend Oak must've told you about how I handed him his ass."

"…who the fuck is _this _ripe piece of shit?" Kyoji growled, glancing at Ash. "Friend of yours?"

"More like the exact _opposite…_" Ash glowered as he stepped forward.

Paul scoffed as he looked at Ash's group. "A swimmer with a bust size suited more for modeling and a face worth punching, a Kalosian noble that doesn't know what it's like to actually fight, some Unovan girl and someone cosplaying as a ninja." he said, summing up what he saw they were. "Pathetic, the lot of you."

"So why aren't _you _going through that tunnel?" Ash asked, resisting the urge to smirk. "Not get enough badges?"

"For your information, I got here two months ago." the Sinnohan stated, annoyed. "But all the worthwhile gyms were closed. Erika was practically demolishing Celedon, Giovanni kicked me out, Daisy Waterflower sicced a Gyarados on me for interrupting one of their water shows, and no one wants to go to that psycho-bitch's Gym in Saffron…"

"My heart _bleeds_." Ash deadpanned.

Sabrina poked her head out from behind the group. "Pardon me, _whelp_?" She growled.

He looked at Sabrina, scowling. "What the fuck are you doing here instead of _doing your job_, woman?" he demanded. "You're a gym leader! You should BE at your gym!"

Kyoji pulled out a dagger. "Imma kill him." He snarled.

"She's here because she's taking a break." Ash said, restraining the urge to tell Pikachu to Thunder his ass. "They deserve a vacation once in a while. She IS human."

"She should be at her post. Stupid woman." Paul spat.

'_She's a beautiful and intelligent woman that could snap your neck and turn you into a goddamn pretzel if she wanted too_' Kyoji balled his fists as he began to march towards him with a seething face - only stopped by an invisible force that held him in place.

'_Dad can handle him._' Sabrina said, giving him a reassuring smile. '_It's alright - his words mean nothing to me._'

Kyoji grumbled, but nodded as he stood his ground… he still kept the knife out though.

"That might be the way you do it in Sinnoh, but here, we actually treat people like _people_." Ash said, knowing full well Paul was just an asshole that needed the stick ripped out of his ass...then _beaten with it_. _Repeatedly_. He had no time to deal with him, though. "So, if you don't mind moving aside, please…?"

"No." Paul said, reaching for a Pokeball. "_You_ are going to battle me. You are going to _lose _and give me your badges."

Serena was the one to react to that. "YOU DARE?! She snapped, pissed off that he would demand Ash to throw a fight for someone else's ego - her voice giving off an odd echo as if _multiple _voices were speaking in unison.

"I've fought a Pallet Town trainer. Gary Oak relied too much on his name to get anywhere." the purple-haired trainer looked at Ash. "You're the same, relying on your mother's reputation as a former member of the Elite Four to get anywhere."

"Pika..." '_Urge to murder: RISING._' Pikachu growled. Ash couldn't blame him: Paul was WORSE.

Kyoji slowly blinked, glancing around as all the girls were openly glaring at this man named Paul. "...this poor sack of shit…" he muttered, shaking his head.

"Well, Paul, hate to say it, but a battle for the badges isn't happening." Ash said with a smile, glancing over his shoulder as he heard someone walk up behind him.

Kyoji leaned into Ash's ear. "Just give the word, and I can have my Gible bury his ass into the earth up to his neck, and we can just walk past him." He whispered, "He's not worth our time…"

"Wrong." Paul snapped. "Under regulation 8, subsection 6, if a registered trainer demands a battle for your badges, when you lose, you give up the badges." he then looked at Sabrina. "You're _supposedly _a gym leader. You know the rules."

Sabrina's eye twitched before she started radiating raw psionic energy. "Insult me again, _boy_, and I will launch you into that mountain at MACH FIVE." she threatened.

"But…" Paul trailed off expectantly.

"You are _technically _correct." Sabrina ground out, as it if pained her to agree. It probably did.

"I know you're against killing, but _just this once_," Kyoji begged, keeping his volume low. "Between all of us, I can _promise _they won't find the body…"

Ash sighed. "I hate this timeline. I _really _do." he muttered. One bad thing after another.

Gible didn't even wait, heading straight for Paul.

Paul heard the music, glancing at the fin as Gible's head popped up. "...the hell is that ugly thing?" He sneered.

This time, Sabrina had to _physically restrain _Kyoji as he tried to leap after him. Gible just glared back as he dug under him. The ground rumbled…

*_Shloop_*

"What the fuck?!" Paul shouted, as he suddenly was brought into the earth up to his neck - dragged down. Gible just resurfaced, and stuck his tongue out at Paul - and pulled his eyelid down in a mocking way before digging back to the group.

"Serves you right, asshole." Iris spat, disgusted by this excuse for a trainer.

"Gible, dig him out of his hole, please." Ash asked nicely. "The kind man wants a Pokemon battle, so I'll give him one."

"WHAT?!" Kyoji yelled. "We can just walk past him-" he stopped at the look in Ash's eyes.

They weren't the eyes of someone resigned to something stupid. This was the same look he had when he tore Giovanni's team apart. And since then, all of them had grown a LOT more powerful. Ash didn't want to BATTLE Paul.

He wanted to ANNIHILATE Paul.

"…on second thought." Kyoji grinned as he looked at Paul. "Gible… please dig him out… Ash needs to teach this… _trainer _a lesson in respect…"

Gible grumbled a bit, but sighed as he dug back in… and there was a resounding BOOM as Paul shot out of the hole - his pants looking a bit singed.

"Little bastard…" Paul growled, as Gible glared at him - and dug back to the group.

"Nice Draco Meteor," Kyoji whispered, giving Gible a fist-bump. "His end will be painful."

"When I win, that thing is going to get a lesson in respect." Paul promised.

"You don't like Gibles, do you?" Ash asked as he walked off to the left of the road. Everyone but Paul going to the right out of respect for other trainers going past.

"Gible?" Paul asked. "THAT'S a Gible? I thought Gible was more impressive! Garchomp is one of the most powerful Pokemon you can have and it grows into that from _that _pathetic thing?"

Kyoji took a long, deep breath. "…Gible, I know I'm not your trainer…" He said, "But… if you would please…?"

"Gib." '_Doing it._' Gible nodded, as he got the evolite clip off his fin and glared at Paul… and moments later he glowed and grew into the size and form of a Garchomp. "Chomp." '_You wanna say that to my face, punk?_'

Paul stared in horror. "What kind of mutant is that _thing_?!" he yelled.

"I only put up with you insulting _me _because I don't really _care_, Paul." Ash said before his civil, if annoyed, tone of voice turned into one that was more akin to his mother's when she was angry. "But insult my Pokemon again and I will GLADLY let _them _deal with you _their _way. I promise you… you _want _me to deal with you _my _way."

The Sinnohan turned his terrified stare to Ash, shaking his head to compose himself. "Fine. When the time comes and I prove how worthless they are, I'll treasure the look on your face." he said, a slight twinge of fear in his voice. Readying himself, he tossed out a Pokeball. "Teddiursa, stand by for battle!" the ball snapped open, releasing the adorable-looking teddy bear Pokemon.

Ash was not fooled: this thing would turn into Paul's Ursaring one day and he would treat it as such. Only question was… who to send out?

'…_Quilava. He won't see her coming_.' he thought only to pause as another ball on his belt snapped open, releasing a blue and black jackal.

"Riolu!" '_Ready to go!_' cried the Emanation Pokemon as he took up a martial arts stance.

"How _typical_. The Crown Prince has a Riolu." Paul sneered. "You're a walking stereotype."

"…Ri!" '_Oh fuck this guy!_' Riolu shouted.

"…Ursa." '…_yeah, he's a prick._' The Teddyursa sighed.

"Riolu…" Ash sighed, "You can't just pop out like that!"

"Rio! Ri!" '_This sack of shit insulted YOUR honor, meaning he insulted MY honor, and the honor of our whole family!_' The Riolu exclaimed. "Riolu!" '_We need to put him back in his place! Let me have this, PLEASE!_'

"...You're right, Riolu." Ash said.

"Like you can understand your little dog. Pretending you do is _extremely _pathetic." Paul said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Oh my god, would you _shut the fuck up!_" Kyoji exclaimed, looking at the Teddiursa. "How the hell do you put up with this guy?!"

"Teddy…?" '_I mean, I guess it's better than being stuck in the wild?_' The Pokemon shrugged.

"Stop acting like you understand him," Paul rolled his eyes.

"I understand him better than you do, asshole…" Kyoji growled. "The only reason he's with you is because he thinks it better than being in the wild…"

"…Ursa?" '…_holy shit, did he understand me?_' The bear Pokemon blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, so can I," Ash said, as the Bear looked between the two of them in surprise.

"Enough games!" Paul shouted, "Teddiursa! Fury Swipes!"

"Block with Metal Claw!" Ash countered. This time, he would give commands to the end. Riolu covered his paws with steel and started batting away every strike.

"Ri-o-lu-ri-o-" '_Patty-cake, patty-cake, baker's __man~_' Riolu sang, Teddiursa getting into singing along.

Ash laughed, falling to his knees, genuinely amused as the two had a Fury Swipes/Metal Claw version of an old kid's game.

"What in the hell are you doing? Stop _trying _to hit him and _hit him_!" Paul yelled.

"Teddi?" '_Can I take a fall, please?_' he asked, not wanting to fight with his new friend.

"Riolu." '_Sadly, no: my pride would not allow it. Nor would yours,_' Riolu said sadly. "Ri?" '_I will try not to hurt you too badly. Fair?_'

Teddiursa smiled. "Ursa!" '_Sure! We're in a Pokemon battle after all,_' he replied before stumbling back, putting a finger in his mouth as Riolu jumped and flipped a few times before landing.

"That's just showing off." Ash said, smiling at the jackal, who grinned back.

"For the love of-" Paul growled, a vein pulsing in his head. "Focus Punch! Beat that dog within an inch of his life!"

"Aura Sphere." Ash retorted, wanting to just put the poor thing out of his misery. Letting this go on any longer was just cruel.

"Are you THAT stupid?" Paul demanded. "Riolu can't learn Aura Sph-"

"Rio!' '_In the words of that guy from Unova, surprise, motherfucker!_' Riolu cried, creating a spinning blue ball in his paws. "Riolu." '_Nothing personal._'

"Teddi!" '_We'll play again sometime!_' said the teddy bear before Riolu shoved his paws forward the Aura Sphere into the cute bear's stomach, knocking him out as mercifully as Riolu could. Paul stared at the knocked out bear before looking at Riolu, who started shadow boxing.

"…That is IMPOSSIBLE by all means," Paul said, his voice cracking. "Riolu. Cannot. Learn. Aura Sphere."

Ash shrugged. "No one said it was a rule. He learned that before I met him."

"Ri. Lou." '_Kicker of asses in the making,' _he commented, palming another Aura Sphere. "Lou." '_Wanna see me do it again?'_

Paul started blinking. Rapidly, staring at the ball, almost as if it's mere existence was _taunting _him. "Wa? How?"

"Don't look at me." Ash said, shrugging. "I only learned he could do it after I met him." He repeated.

"This makes no sense," Paul muttered as he returned Teddiursa. "_You_ make no sense. STOP NOT MAKING SENSE!"

Kyoji and Sabrina resisted laughing.

Ash was nice enough not to laugh in his face, deserving it or not. "Alright, Riolu, let's preserve what's left of his dignity-"

"GO FUCK YOURSELF!" Paul roared back.

"And recall you," Ash finished as though Paul didn't interrupt him, returning Riolu to his ball before clipping it to his belt and tossing out Quilava's Pokeball.

Quilava materialized with a happy "Qui!" before seeing Paul. "Qui?" '_Paul? What the hell's he doing in Kanto?_' she asked. She sniffed the air, then rankled her nose. "Qui…" '_And why is he wearing enough cologne to drown a small township?_'

"I have no idea, Quilava," Ash said, shrugging. Paul didn't wear cologne in the last timeline.

"I thought you were Kantoan, not Johtoian." Paul said with mild disgust. "There's only one place worse than Kanto and that's _Johto_."

"…Qui." '_I'm going to beat the shit out of whatever Pokemon he sends out._' she said before her back flamed up. "LAVA!" '_THEN I'M GOING TO TORCH YOUR ASS!_'

"You tell 'em Quilava!" Kyoji called out, "Kick his ass back to Sinnoh!"

"Fire is easily extinguished." Paul deadpanned, putting away Teddiursa's Pokeball and retrieving another before throwing it. "Marill, stand by for battle!"

The ball opened, energy releasing a mouse-like Pokemon related to Pikachu, but with a rounder, blue body, a thinner tail with a ball on the end and a much smaller head with rounded ears. Ash almost had a feeling of nostalgia for Tracy, but his general distaste for the Orange Islands overrode any warm feelings for the man that would eventually become Professor Oak's assistant.

"Mar?" '_Oh, good. A fire-type. Maybe I'll win this time and he won't threaten to release me…_' said Marill, making Ash more than a little pissed off at the reminder that Paul was one to release underperforming Pokemon instead of solving the problem with hard work, training and occasionally a kind word. No, Paul was more 'if you're not strong now, you'll never be.' Ash proved him wrong with Infernape last time.

"If you don't win this, Marill, you are gone." Paul spat. "I have no use for weaklings."

"Keep it up, Paul." Ash said, getting more pissed off the more Paul talked. "I'm considering letting Sabrina turn you into a _human pretzel_ and _walking away_."

Paul glared at Ash. "That would be murder." he stated.

"'Murder' would imply you were _innocent_." Sabrina retorted - while psionically holding Kyoji back, who was seething. "I wonder how many Pokemon you just released, only to die from Shadow Pokemon attacks. Murder by proxy is _still _murder and the trainer that released the Pokemon is responsible for their deaths. Regulation 13, subsection 7, if I remember correctly."

"Natural selection is served." Paul retorted before focusing on the battle. "Water Gun."

Marill quickly inhaled, preparing to expel water at Quilava.

"Aerial Ace! Dodge it, but don't hit Merrill!" Ash commanded, Quilava flashed white and disappeared, only to appear to the water mouse's left, a few feet from him.

"This is a battle. You expect to win without injuring my Pokemon?" Paul asked, confused and annoyed.

"I don't want to hurt Merill if you're just going to release him after this is over." Ash snapped, making Paul glower. "That's what I thought.'

"The weak die, the strong prevail. If you don't like it, hide under a rock." the Sinnohan replied, Marill looking depressed and Quilava not even bothering to attack. Not only would that be rude, it would be wrong "Arceus rules because he is strongest. Nothing more."

"...Arceus I want to kill this man so bad…" Kyoji grunted, "Sabrina, let me at him, PLEASE!"

"Patience, Kyoji…" Sabrina assured, "He will get what's coming to him… Ash simply needs to do it… _this time._"

"You release Marill, Misty gets him." Ash said, making her gape at him.

"WHAT?!" she asked, yelling. "You didn't even ask me!"

"He's a water-type, you like water-types…" Ash said, shrugging. "Makes sense."

"...Sweet, but no thank you. I want an Azurill first." Misty said, blushing.

"I'll take him!" Kyoji said. "He's like Pikachu, only blue!"

"Enough." Paul snapped. "I am not entertaining your discussions any further! Marill, Aqua Tail!"

Marill obeyed, swiping at Quilava, but the fire badger just rolled backwards, ending up on her hindquarters and eyesmiling like she did as a Cyndaquil.

"You are beginning to annoy me, Marill." the purple haired jackass spat. "HIT THAT DAMN THING AND PROVE YOU'RE WORTHY!"

Marill rushed at Quilava, who just kept dodging, rolling and generally avoiding every Aqua Tail thrown at her, the fire-type turning it into a game.

"Qui!" '_Up high!_' she said, jumping over another Aqua Tail. "La!" '_Down low_!' she ducked under another one and rolled under a vertical strike, eyesmiling the entire time. "Lava!" '_Too slow_!'

"Mar!" '_Stop dodging and let me hit you!_' Marill all but pleaded, taking another swipe. "Rill!" '_I'm not getting released! I don't want to go back out in the wild!_'

"Qui." '_I know, but I have my pride. Can't just _let _you hit me_.' Quilava said, ducking under a diagonal slash of Aqua Tail and rolling back. "Lava." '_Besides, you lose, Kyoji can catch you. He seems nice enough. I mean, he hangs around Ash, so that's a good sign._'

"Marill?" '…_So I can just throw this_?' Marill asked hopefully. "Rill…" '_I mean...he's an asshole, but…_'

"Quilava!" '_No. You're a Pokemon: we don't throw a fight unless it's for training!_' the volcano Pokemon replied. "Qui!" '_I have to EARN this!_'

Marill nodded, then resumed his attack, making every attempt to hit Quilava.

"Bubble Beam!" Paul ordered. "Melee isn't working!"

Marill obeyed, but Quilava countered, using Defense Curl and Smokescreen to make it all but impossible to hit her as she rolled around in a ball.

"Nice one, Quilava!" Ash praised.

"STOP MOCKING ME!" Paul demanded. "Water Sport!"

"Aerial Ace! Hit him this time!" Ash commanded. Quilava disappeared then slammed into Marill's back, spinning around as a ball before landing on the ground.

"Qui!" '_I could be a contest Pokemon_!' she half-bragged, just as interested in humiliating Paul as Ash was.

"Rollout!" Paul snapped, losing patience, Marill curling into a ball and spinning in place before launching at Quilava.

"Aerial Ace and Tackle!" Ash commanded, Quilava dodging the rock-type attack with Marill rolling by, only to get smacked in the back again before being shoved with a shoulder bash.

Towards Paul's face.

Sabrina was technically refereeing this fight, so she should have either stopped Marill or made Ash forfeit...but Paul was such an asshole that honestly, he asked for it as the Aqua Mouse Pokemon slammed into his face, a harsh snap indicating something broke as he was knocked down.

From the blood pouring down Paul's chin from his nostrils, his nose was likely as the blue mouse landed at Paul's feet. The annoyed Sinnohan got back up and glared at Marill, who saw the look in his trainer's eyes before Paul clicked the button on his Pokeball, releasing Marill from its' hold

"Get out of here!" Paul shouted, as he was about to kick the Marill-

*_BAM_*

He flinched as a bullet flew past his left ear - clipping his hair as Kyoji stood there, a pistol in hand.

"…kick that Marill, and I will shoot you dead." He growled. "I don't care what Ash says…" he glanced at the crying Marill, and smiled. "Hey little guy, come over here…"

"M-Mar…" '_B-but I'm… weak, I_-' Marill said, slowly walking away from Paul.

"No you're not," Kyoji stepped forward - keeping the gun trained on Paul. "Come here, little one…" he scooped the blue ball up into his arm, stepping back towards the group. "...you just need some training… me and Gible will be happy to help."

"Gib!" '_Hi new friend!_' Kyoji's Gible waved.

"Rill?" '_Hi…? He's… a Gible, but… yellow?_'

"Electric-type, but don't let that worry you," Kyoji assured, "He only shocks the people he doesn't like… like that asshole over there."

"Gib!" '_Speaking of which…_' Gible said before opening his maw. "Gible!' _Eat lightning_!' A Thunderbolt shot from his mouth, slamming into Paul, making him twitch and sputter as his nervous system was assaulted by electrical power.

"He's not me, Gible!" Ash said, horrified. "I can take a thunderbolt; _he _can't!"

"I think he's _well _aware of that…" Kyoji said, glancing at Gible. "That's enough Gible, save some for later."

Gible ceased the attack, leaving Paul flopping like a fish, which is pretty much how one is after getting hit with a high voltage-low amperage electrical assault.

"He'll be fine," Kyoji waved it off, "It's like being hit by a taser for him… now if a _Garchomp_ hit him with a Thunderbolt, we may have to call in a medic."

"Anabel got a Thunder Punch to the heart and _died _from it." Ash reminded him. "I'm wary of doing that to normal people."

"I trained Gible, Ash." Kyoji reminded him, "He won't kill someone or something unless I _tell _him to."

Paul got back to his feet once more, taking a minute to get over being shocked, literally and figuratively, by Gible.

"What the hell is that thing?" Paul demanded. "Gible and Garchomp can't learn electric attacks: they're dragon/ground-types!"

"He's a _very _special Gible," Kyoji said, holding his Gible next to Marill - who was weirded out… but Gible just eye-smiled and hugged the Marill - who was a bit surprised… but started to hug back.

"I will deal with _you _later." Paul snapped.

"Asshole." Anabel said, surprising the girls. "He doesn't understand Pokemon aren't machines. They're living things, not tools."

"Nidorino, stand by for battle!" Paul snapped as he threw out another ball, sending out the male second stage of the Nidoran line, even as thunder rolled overhead.

"Were we due for rain?" Iris asked, curious if that was in the weather reports.

"We were, but the forecast wasn't until this evening," Misty replied before grinning. "Weather people can't get it right all the time."

Ash simply looked skyward, then pulled out the Pokedex. He knew EXACTLY who to bring in.

* * *

**Oak Ranch -1321 hours local time**

* * *

"Ivy." '_Looks like Ash is calling for a transfer,_' Ivysaur said, seeing who he wanted to bring in.

The picture on the monitor was transferring out Froakie for Sliggoo.

"Mi?" '_Why does he want Sliggoo?_' Mimikyu tilted her head in curiosity.

"Ivy… Saur…" '_I don't… wait…_' Ivysaur glanced up, looking in the distance, seeing a gathering of clouds a far distance away. "…Ivysaur." '…_Oh, Sliggoo's gonna have a good day today…_'

"Mi!" '_Does this mean he's gonna evolve?!_' Mimikyu asked, excited that her friend would get his eyesight back.

"Ivy!" '_Don't just stand there!_' Ivysaur said, giving her a look. "Saur!" '_Get him over here as quickly as possible!_'

"Mimi!" '_Aye, aye, saur!_' Mimikyu said, using her hand to give a salute before rushing off to find Sliggoo.

* * *

**Victory Road entrance - 1323 hours local time**

* * *

"Well?" Paul demanded. "What the hell are you even doing? I want to get this over with before that storm gets here. I have a conference to win."

Ash's Pokedex dinged and the Pokeball ring flashed. Froakie was back home and he had a snail that wanted to be better than he was.

"Just this." Ash said, taking the ball off his belt and getting ready to pitch. "I choose you, Sliggoo!" he tossed, the ball opening up and depositing the large snail Pokemon.

Paul just stared at it, not knowing what it was. It didn't even occur to him to pull out his Pokedex.

"Slig!" '_Hey Ash! So what's…_' Sliggoo looked towards Paul. '_Whose that?_'

"The hell is that ugly thing?" he demanded.

"…goo." '…_Oh I don't like you…_' Sliggoo growled, only to pause as he heard thunder. Very _close _thunder. He looked up, and heard the rain clouds… and it began to rain.

"Slig, SLIG!" '_Yes, YES!_' Sliggoo began bouncing, "SLIGGOO!" '_FINALLY!_'

Then the rain hit his body. Sabrina put up a psionic bubble around the group to keep them from getting drenched, Anabel putting up a small bubble around Ash while Paul...got rained on as it began to downpour.

"…oh right, you can do that…" Kyoji muttered, as he put away the umbrella he was pulling out.

"It's the thought that counts," Sabrina smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

"Watch this." Misty said, looking at Sliggoo, even as Paul finally got the Pokedex out.

"_Foreign Pokemon identified_." the device said in a monotone. "_Accessing local databases...files found. Sliggoo, the Soft Tissue Pokemon, native of Kalos. Pre-evolved form: Goomy, the Soft Tissue Pokemon. Type: dragon_."

"That thing's a dragon?" Paul demanded as thunder rolled over them. "It looks _nothing_ like a dragon!"

"For once, I agree with the asshole!" Kyoji yelled, making Paul glare at him. "What? Even a dumbass like you can be right once in a while!"

"_Sliggoo is blind, relying on sonar and radio waves to navigate. When a rainstorm comes, they seek it out." said the Sinnohan Pokedex_.

"For _what_?" Paul demanded, only to be answered as Sliggoo started glowing. "...Oh, shit."

**BGM: "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC**

"They seek out rain to evolve." Ash said, grinning as Sliggoo's body began to grow, his neck becoming longer and more defined, his head gaining a snout and his antennae lengthened and thickened, gaining more of a curl as his arms also grew, becoming actual arms.

The soft 'shell' on his back increased in size, looking more like a snail's while behind him, a tail appeared, stubby but strong.

Most importantly, gone was the single muscular foot, replaced by two strong, stout legs. With that, the glow stopped and Sliggoo was no more.

Thunder crashed around them as lightning bolts actually hit the ground near him, the dragon stomping the ground with his new legs before roaring his name.

"GOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDRAAAAAAA!" '_I'M BACK, BITCHES! WHO'S FIRST?!_' demanded Goodra as he lowered his head towards Paul… and opened his eyes.

"_Goodra, the Dragon Pokemon, native of Kalos. Pre-evolved forms: Goomy and Sliggoo, both Soft Tissue Pokemon. Type: dragon_," the Sinnoh dex said. "_Goodra are friendly to the point where they are depicted in the lore of Kalos as benevolent guides and even heroes. They give their trainers slimy hugs to show their affection. Further notice: Goodra is a pseudo-legendary Pokemon_."

Paul's eyes widened as he looked at the creature before him… which if his Dex was telling the truth… was indeed a pseudo-Legendary type like Dragonite, Metagross and… Garchomp.

Kyoji cackled loudly. "What's the matter, Paul?" He laughed, "You look like you've been… _Thunderstruck._"

Before, it was first and second-stage Pokemon. Now Ash brought out a walking _tank_.

Paul made a rash choice. "Ice Beam!" he ordered, Nidorino giving him a look before obeying, steam rising from his mouth.

"Do the same, Goodra!" Ash commanded. Goodra cackled as he drew in ice-type energy, spitting out in a beam of frosty death. Nidorino fired in a panic to meet it, ice meeting ice midway towards one another, struggling for dominance.

Goodra cackled as he began to overpower Nidorino's Ice Beam, pushing his attack towards the poison-type. The poison pin Pokemon pumped more and more power into it, trying to keep Goodra's attack away. All Goodra did was smirk as Nidorino's desperation failed, the Ice beam losing cohesion and failing, leaving Nidorino to face the attack, slamming into his chest and freezing his forelimbs in place.

The poison-type struggled to break free, panicking as Goodra slowly lumbered towards him, radiating evil intent before calling out, hail and ice falling with the rain as it slammed into Nidorino, cracking his skull and bruised his eyes before Goodra charged up another Ice Beam and fired, freezing Nidorino in place, snout to tail.

"That was a bit much." Ash said.

"Goodra!" '_I spent THREE MONTHS as a Goomy again! Let me have this!_' Goodra said, looking back at his friend and trainer. "Goo." '_You're not recalling me until I faint. I NEED this._'

Paul recovered from his shock, as he growled. "M-Magby, stand-by for battle!" He shouted as he tossed his next ball out.

"Magby! Ma-" '_Okay, let's do-_' Magby began to shout out, before it noticed the shadow over it… and saw the looming form of Goodra over him. "…by…" '…_shit…_'

"Dropping the ball?" Kyoji snarked, chuckling at his own pun. "Fire's only quarter effective against dragons and the rain's only going to make it worse!'

"Goo…" '_This is going to be EASY…_' Goodra said, grinning.

"Magby!" '_What the fuck?!_' Magby shouted to Paul. "Magby! MAGBY MAG!" '_You expect me to fight A PSEUDO-LEGENDARY!? WITH TYPE ADVANTAGE, WHILE I'M OUT OF MY ELEMENT?!_'

"I didn't think this one through." Paul admitted, horror dawning on his face as Goodra started chuckling darkly.

"There are a _lot _of things you didn't think through, punk." Kyoji deadpanned. "Case 1: Challenging Ash-fucking-Ketchum."

Magby jumped and smacked Goodra in the face with Brick Break, but the karate chop didn't do anything. In fact, Goodra just let Magby keep smacking his fat-covered body with everything he had, from Brick Break to even using a weakened Fire Blast to his chest, relying on STAB to do damage.

All it resulted in was bruises that vanished as quickly as they formed and soot that washed away with the rain.

"Goo." '_My turn,_' Goodra declared as something dripped from his mouth. Magby backed away, thinking it was drool and Goodra would eat him.

It wasn't saliva. It was _water_.

Goodra reared back, an orb of water forming in his mouth before he spat it out. Magby continued running, in vain hopes the Water Pulse wouldn't hit him, but it was all in vain as he was hit with the orb, slamming into him, knocking him past Paul, into the rock face.

Goodra was not done as he slowly walked forward, water dripping from his mouth. He reared his neck back again, spewing another Water Pulse at Magby, making a crater he was in the center of as Goodra fired again, making it bigger and deeper.

Call it bullying if you want. Goodra called it catharsis. Having his power back, he didn't care who it was used on at the moment. He'd feel bad about it later.

Steam poured from his mouth as he fired an Ice Beam into the hole, icing it over and trapping Magby in the ice, to the horror of all.

"Goodra, you're not supposed to kill them!" Serena cried out in horror.

"_Even if their trainer's an asshole, their Pokemon aren't the one you should be hitting._" Asuka said in agreement. "_Why'd you give him that thing, anyways?_"

"_We did not give Ash Goodra: Goodra was his from the start._" Rey retorted.

"Goo!" '_He'll be fine_.' Goodra said, even as the ice started melting. Magby used Overheat to melt the ice, only to fall out onto the wet ground, unconscious.

"That's four." Sabrina said, counting the number of Paul's knocked out Pokemon. "You have two Pokemon left, unless you didn't bring any more."

"I do." Paul sneered at Sabrina, returning Magby before reaching for another ball. "Failures, all of them. If they _didn't _have moves and abilities that aren't common, I'd release them like I did Marill."

Kyoji just gave Paul an incredulous look. "Oh my god, he's dumber than bricks…" he muttered, rubbing his forehead.

"He's a believer of might makes right." Sabrina said, understanding his annoyance and wanting to help him end the idiot. "Ash wants to _break_ him."

Ash stared Paul down. Kyoji grinned at it.

"'Know thy enemy, know yourself. Victory is always yours'." he said, quoting an ancient Ferrum warlord's texts.

"Murkrow, stand by for battle!" Paul caled, sending out the witch-hat wearing crow, who materialized, looking at the rain in annoyance. Upon seeing Goodra's feet, he froze and started looking up slowly.

"Goo." '_Boo,_' said Goodra, smirking down at the bird.

"KROW!" '_HOLY SHIT!_' Murkrow exclaimed, "MUR!" '_PAUL! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GET US INTO?!_'

"Icy Wind!" Paul ordered. "It's a dragon!"

"KROW?!" '_This fucking thing's a _dragon_?_!' Murkrow said before obeying, flapping his wings to blast Goodra with supercooled air, slowing the dragon down somewhat as Murkrow backed off, using Icy Wind often, trying to freeze the snail dragon of _doom _in place. It wasn't working, but it was slowing him down.

Goodra didn't care. He was ENJOYING this. Back home, he was super-friendly to everyone because they knew who he was and knew he wasn't a threat. Here...not so much. Besides, this was Paul, the infamous Sinnoh trainer with a steel rod stuck so far up his ass you could see the shine when he opened his mouth that Pikachu told him about back in Kalos.

He didn't give a damn.

Murkrow's wings tired, the magpie watching as the ice started to melt. Then Goodra looked upwards, roaring as lightning arced _up _from him _into _the clouds.

"Goo…" '_You've been…_' Goodra said, as the lighting crackled in the clouds. "DRA!" '_THUNDERSTRUCK!_' Shouting the last part, the lighting crashed back down, hitting the Murkrow dead center.

"…he took my joke…" Kyoji muttered. "…I'm not sure if I'm happy or angry…"

Murkrow coughed before falling on his back, unwilling and unable to fight.

Goodra might have been defensively-biased, but he was still one of Ash's powerhouses.

One that was hurt: the skin was showing signs of frostbite and not healing as quickly. Goodra counted himself lucky: he could have been a Dragonite or Salamence and it would hurt _more_.

"That thing is becoming an ANNOYANCE." Paul snapped. "No Pokemon can be that strong! Not even a pseudo-legendary, especially after it just evolved!"

Ash scowled back at him. "Goodra is that strong because he trains a lot. I also take care of my Pokemon, showing them the care and affection they _deserve_." he said. "Do you even care about ANY of the Pokemon under your care?!"

"Only one. And because he is power incarnate." Paul said before returning Murkrow and pulling out one last Pokeball. Ash knew who it was. "Torterra! Stand by for battle!" Paul tossed out Torterra's ball, releasing the massive tortoise with a tree on his back, who glared at Goodra.

"Tor?" '_What in the fuck are you?_' Torterra demanded as he sunk his feet into the muddy ground.

"Goodra." '_I'm the dragon that's going to be handing you your ass,_' Goodra replied, grinning despite his pain.

"I think you spend too much time with Charizard…" Ash muttered worryingly. Goodra was usually nicer.

"Tor." '_Doubtful you are a dragon. You appear to be a water-type._" Torterra replied, firing an Energy Ball at Goodra, making him flinch in pain… but not hurting him.

"Goo." '_You were _saying… _asshole?_' Goodra demanded. Torterra looked back at his trainer in mild terror.

"Tor!" '_Requesting orders!_" Torterra called, Goodra advancing on him.

"Earthquake! Keep hitting the damn thing until it passes out!" Paul shouted. "I think it has Hydration!"

"Tor." '_I _hate _Hydration._' said Torterra before lifting his leg and stomping the ground, making the earth crack under Goodra's newly-made feet.

"Goo!" '_Damn it, I just enjoyed this!_' the Dragon Pokemon said as the earth parted, Goodra falling into the crack, stopping halfway due to his bulk and arms.

"I don't care what it takes!" Paul yelled. "Use every attack you have! FIRE EVERYTHING!"

"Ice Beam!" Ash ordered, even as Torterra fired Energy Balls and Razor Leaves at the dragon, pissing him off more than anything. Torterra stomped the ground again, causing another Earthquake.

Goodra soon learned that being in the ground while there was an Earthquake didn't save you: it only made matters worse. He was crushed and pinched beyond Hydration's ability to heal, but he would not go quietly. He fired a half-charged Ice Beam at Torterra in defiance, slamming into the tortoise's face, freezing one eye open and making him unable to close his mouth.

Torterra tried to scream - but found it difficult given how his mouth was frozen up - incapable of making coherent words. He ground his face into the ground, desperately trying to scrape the ice off of his one eye.

Kyoji winced looking at that "That… can't be a nice feeling…" he muttered.

Paul, however, was smug. It may have taken four Pokemon to defeat Goodra, but he finally beat him. "Pull out your next Pokemon." he demanded.

"No mocking?" Ash asked as he returned Goodra to his ball.

"I am _not _an idiot. Your Goodra took four Pokemon to defeat," Paul admitted. "_That_ is not pathetic, that is worthy of respect. But no Pokemon you have can defeat Torterra. Go ahead. Send out your Quilava or Riolu or whatever pathetic Pokemon you have. You're not stupid enough to use that yellow rat on your shoulder, that's for sure."

Pikachu's eye twitched. "Pikapi," '_I am going to electrocute this son of a bitch, Ash and you are NOT going to stop me,_' he demanded.

Ash sighed. "After Torterra's dealt with," he relented, as Paul had crossed the LAST line. "Kick his ass, Pikachu!"

Pikachu grinned as Ash moved his arm to let Pikachu run on top of it, jumping onto the battlefield.

Paul was dumbfounded. "You cannot be serious," he demanded. "That thing's an electric-type! Torterra using Earthquake will KILL-"

"_Shut_ the _fuck _up," Ash snapped, making Paul look at him in surprise as gave Pikachu a command. "Volt Tackle."

Pikachu was confused for a second before understanding, charging at Torterra, electric power rippling over him.

"Do you not know your type chart, you stupid fool?!" Paul demanded, only for the white lightning turned black as night. And even _he _knew what that meant. "TORTERRA, EARTHQUAKE! IT'S A SHADOW POKEMON! TAKE IT OUT NOW!"

Torterra looked at the charging Pikachu, then raised his forelimbs to stomp, but Pikachu had already formed his Shadow-enhanced Volt Tackle. He jumped as Torterra stomped, the shaking earth not doing anything as Pikachu was in the air, making it useless.

Then Pikachu spun in midair, tail covered in steel as he slammed into Torterra, the shadow energy being super effective, bypassing Torterra's ground-type immunity to electric attacks. Combined with Pikachu swinging around to use Iron Tail, Torterra was going to have a mighty big headache.

This made the turtle stagger as Pikachu jumped back, electric power arcing over him before turning into the color of night.

"Shadow Bolt!" Ash said. Pikachu slammed Torterra with the Shadow Thunderbolt, ground-typing doing absolutely nothing to stop it. The grass-type starter slammed into the ground, unconscious.

"And with _six _losses to _one_, Ash Ketchum wins." Sabrina declared, smirking.

"As if there was any doubt." Kyoji smirked.

"_Let's go Ash! *Clap-Clap, Clapclapclap* Let's go Ash! *Clap-Clap, Clapclapclap*_" Serena nodded as her personalities cheered Ash on.

Sabrina stepped forward, a smug grin on her face. "Now, with Ash winning, under regulation 8, subsection 7, you have forfeit any chance of joining a Pokemon League conference for the next year and a half." she said, smirking. "I'd wish you luck in Hoenn, but seeing as you have a stick up your ass the size of Mount Coronet, I'd advise you to go home and rethink your life." She grinned, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture.

Paul glared at Sabrina. "He has a Shadow Pokemon!" he yelled.

"And?" she asked, as if it mattered. Honestly, as far as Ash was concerned, it didn't.

"Shadow Pokemon have an unfair advantage over all Pokemon!" Paul spat, "If this cheating-"

Lightning hit Paul's chest, right below his heart, as Pikachu electrocuted him MUCH more harshly than Gible did.

"Pika." '_Never. Call. My brother. A CHEATER,_' Pikachu growled, his tail turning to razor-sharp steel as Paul twiched as if hit with a high-powered taser. Essentially, he was.

"Pikachu, that's enough," Ash said, the mouse reluctantly obeying.

"There is no rule that bans Shadows from competing, actually." Kyoji pointed out, smirking. "There _are _regulations about how to handle them, and if one were to go psycho - but, as you can see, numbnuts… Pikachu and Ash have absolute 100% respect for one another… something they've _earned _through trial and error, which is a little more than we can say about you and your sorry ass."

"And Pikachu would have handed Torterra his rear end anyways." Ash said, smiling. "We train to negate the type chart. More of a challenge. I only let Pikachu use his Shadow moves for one reason: I have _no time_ to waste on you. I have better things to do, better, nicer trainers to compete against. So unless you want Sabrina to launch you into that rock face - because she _does _\- I _suggest _you kindly let us pass before my adopted daughter turns you into a red smear on the rocks."

Paul looked at Sabrina, who waved at him. "…I give up. Go." he said, drained. "Just… go."

"Should've done it in the first place, jackass." Iris said as Ash walked past him, entering the tunnel, followed closely by the rest of the group.

Kyoji just continued to pet the Marill. "So… you wanna stick around with me, little guy?" He asked. "I promise I'll never release you to the wild… I won't even force you to fight in a battle you don't want to fight in."

"…M-Marill?" '_Y-You promise?_' The mouse-like water type asked, as Kyoji smiled.

"Promise," He nodded, as he pulled out one of his empty Pokeballs. "Just say the word."

Marill looked at the ball for a moment… before he happily hopped up - booping his head against the pokeball, allowing itself to be caught. The Pokeball shook for a few moments, and 'pinged' signalling a capture.

"You know this is only going to make Paul more determined." Sabrina said to her adoptive father. "From what little I know from Misty's… past self, he's going to be more focused on kicking your ass. He will not accept failure like this."

"Come on, he kicked the asshole's ass!" Kyoji said, smirking. "If I got that kind of asswhooping… I'd honestly be considering giving up."

"That's a lie." Sabrina said, patting him on the shoulder. "You'd try again until you won."

"…fair enough," Kyoji shrugged in acknowledgement. "But still, after being beaten down by someone whose training method is clearly superior to his own, you'd think he'd see reason at some point, wouldn't he?"

"No," Ash said, sighing. Paul was too stubborn in the last timeline to accept defeat like that and was just as bad, if not worse, here.

"It would have to be in a public forum." Anabel said, thinking. "Where everyone would watch him… lose…" it dawned on her. "The League."

"Public humiliation was the only way to get him to realize his way doesn't work," Ash said. "I didn't get it myself, at the time, but having some time to think it over as well as being forced to actually think outside battle…"

"You're not an idiot, Ash." Serena said, smiling at him.

"Yeah, but coming back made me… I don't know, think more like an adult." he said. "And that's the only way to break Paul of his philosophy. _Very _public humiliation."

"…alright, so another league then, or some other big tournament." Kyoji nodded, "We can do that… I can't imagine him exactly improving all that much…"

"You would be very surprised," Misty said, using her 'other self's' knowledge of the Lily of the Valley Conference. "Most of Paul's Pokemon matched Ash's Sinnoh team for most of their time in Sinnoh."

"Yeah? Ash's Pokemon are gonna be BETTER." Kyoji declared proudly. "If you weren't being stupid about the romance thing-"

"Let me deal with my daddy issues on my own, please." Ash pleaded. "I already have to talk about them to my shrink: I don't want to drag it out here."

* * *

**Indigo Plateau - Pokemon League Headquarters - 1437 hours local time**

* * *

While only registered Pokemon League personnel were allowed deeper into the building, the guests of the league were allowed to wander inside the inner parameter, so long as they minded where they weren't supposed to go.

Such was the case with League sponsor Kyril Pernon and his assistant/girlfriend Rin Uzumaki as they looked out over the Indigo Coliseum, where the battles to determine who would face the Elite Four at a chance for glory would take place.

"Gonna be quite the lineup, from what I can tell," Kyril said, looking at the arenas. "That Ketchum kid's a prime contender, but from what we've seen of the records, he's the cream of a rather talented crop."

"64 trainers, all of whom either are league vets or newcomers." Rin said, looking over the papers before smirking at the newest one. "Oh, this is cute."

"Oh?" Kyril asked, wondering what was so funny.

"Some idiot from Sinnoh tried his luck fighting Ketchum at the entrance to Victory Road." she said, resisting the urge to laugh. "His Pokedex recorded only one loss on his side… and that was after fighting off FOUR Pokemon in succession."

"…Is it me, or did his Pokemon get a serious boost after that freaky ass storm two weeks back?" Kyril asked. "Because those records you're shoving into my face keep saying that while he's won almost every match he's fought-"

"Not because of power, no." Rin said, putting on a pair of reading glasses. "Ketchum's Pokemon don't seem to specialize in raw power. Most of his fights read like an old dogfight, with constant dodging, hit and run attacks and using their enemy's own body against them. Only one of his Pokemon has a raw power thing going for him and even then, the damn Charizard is fast AND powerful."

"Point," Kyril mentioned. "Still, it seems like that damn storm put something in the air - and that something just made Ketchum's Pokemon even stronger."

"Better hope your feelings about him are right." Rin said, looking at him over her glasses. "If he decides to take Rota's old territory back, at this rate, within three years he'll be about to fend off Lance AND Cynthia at the same time and that asshole… what was his name? The Galar Champion with that stupid size thing?"

"Leon. And it's called 'Dynamaxing', I think." Kyril said, wincing. "I don't think he'd show up, not after what you did."

"Not the point! He's the top bloody trainer on the planet and at this rate, Ketchum's going to be able to face him on equal terms within five years!" Rin said, honestly panicking at that. "He beat Lance, which means he could beat Cynthia. And it took two decades for those two to get to their level. In 20 years… where would Ketchum be?"

Kyril paled. "…Your point is proven." he said before loosening his tie. "Doubt he will, though. He looked more interested in Pokemon training than conquest. That's more of a Ranseian thing."

"Ransei doesn't exist." Rin said, exasperated over THAT subject.. "Shut up about it."

* * *

**Pokemon League Database: Access Pending. Please stand by...**

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: She is… only half-wrong. As for Paul getting his ass handed to him… let's be honest: not only are/were Ash's Pokemon trying to get to their level of strength as of the Hoenn Conference before Indigo, with the exception of the Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos and Alola crews for obvious reasons, who are simply getting league-worthy themselves, Ash is basically the Pokemon Trainer version of Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo himself. And we know better than to FUCK WITH THRAWN.**

**Takeshi Yamato: That's for sure. The only times Thrawn's really been defeated are when someone has completely gone against type. In the Thrawn Trilogy, it was when Leia subverted the Noghri. And in Rebels, it was when Ezra called in the Mandalorians in Season 3 and a flock of Purgill in the finale. Well, his subordinates acting on their own initiative and going against orders caused problems for him, too.**

**117Jorn: …oh people are gonna be in for a RUDE awakening soon…**

**Ron the True Fan: …What the hell is that…(marching sound is heard with an army of Gibles) …ADORABLE ARMY!**

**Takeshi Yamato: Heh. An army of cute.**

**Gible Army: GIBLE~!**

**Ja Ne!**


	33. Chapter 32: Indigo Conference-1

**Ron the True Fan: To think, this fic was started in 2018… well, the PLANNING for it started in October 2018. Took months to get everything in order before the prologue was written. Coordinating writing was a pain until I decided 'screw it: I'LL do the heavy lifting' and wrote most of the first ten chapters in 6 months, slowing down by a chapter a month until Sword and Shield came out and I just couldn't help but post.**

**117Jorn: Came a long way to make it to this point.**

**Takeshi Yamato: That's for sure.**

* * *

**Victory Road tunnels - 1437 hours local time - Day 108 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

Victory Road. A simple maze of tunnels that were the final challenge for a Pokemon trainer on their way to the League. Filled with Pokemon that were incredibly powerful and would crush anyone stupid enough to enter.

At least, if they weren't prepared. Many trainers tried during the early days of the league to run through with no badges. Their deaths inspired the posting of guards until the Cipher War. After that, it was drilled into the heads of every trainer: 'No badge, no League'.

"I've never seen these before." Misty said as they walked past a pokemon that looked like a spiked rock rolling past. "Not even Ash saw them."

"Minior." Sabrina said, barely sparing them a glance. "Rock/flying-types native to Alola. They're common as sin, born in the atmosphere. They're so common, Rayquaza uses them for food."

Ash blanched. "Rayquaza EATS them?" he asked, horrified at the idea. "They're Pokemon!"

"True, but they're also non-sentient." Anabel said, looking at them. "I don't get any feelings of higher thought from them. And they're awake, before you ask."

"Pika." '_Dumb as a rock_.' Pikachu commented, only to receive a look from Ash. "Pi?' '_What? Literal rocks_!'

The cap-wearing trainer sighed. "I guess I don't know everything about Pokemon after all." Ash admitted. "But knowing everything takes the fun out of it, I suppose."

"NOW you're sounding your age." Kyoji said, grinning as the Gibles continued their 'races' around them. "…Seriously, how DO you guys do that?"

Serena giggled at the Gibles before they surfaced again. "GIB!" they cried, not saying anything before doing the land shark thing once more. Sabrina moved past them, getting a dirty eye from Anabel as she brushed past.

"I've been through here before, or at least the crazy bitch that controlled me was here before. Unless you want to end up like those guys?" Sabrina said, hooking a thumb at a corner, revealing what looked like a set of rocks.

Then Sabrina made them glow, revealing them to be aged, mineral-infused human bones.

Misty and Anabel cringed at the bones, Serena just looked fascinated… Janine and Iris just shrugged.

Janine was obvious: she was a kunoichi. They saw death on a regular basis. Iris… Ash didn't want to know.

"Lead on." he said, willing to let the greenette lead the way.

* * *

**Viridian City Pokemon Center - 1512 hours local time**

* * *

"Are you sure you want to release them?" the local Joy asked the _incredibly _jerkish trainer from Sinnoh as she tried to convince him to heal several Pokemon instead of just letting them go.

"They're useless to me." he said, scowling. "They barely kept the wild Pokemon off my back while I healed the worthwhile ones. I have no use for weaklings."

"Your attitude is _disgusting_," the Joy retorted, venom dripping from her words. "If I had the right, I'd refuse you services!"

"But then the Pokemon you're so eagerly defending WILL die," replied the trainer - Paul Ikari, his Trainer ID read - smuggly. "Put them up for adoption if you want: I don't care. Just heal Torterra and the others. They fought something called a Goodra and some Arceus-forsaken Shadow Pokemon."

The Joy almost felt sorry for him, not knowing what a Goodra was before she looked it up on the computer, even as she took his Pokeballs for healing. The monitor displayed the most squishy and friendly looking dragon-type she'd ever seen. "…aww, he's cute…"

"It's a damn pseudo-legendary is what it is," Paul growled, "I'll teach that damn slimeball a lesson, along with that jackass Ash…"

"Ash?" Joy blinked. "Wait, Ash Ketchum?"

"…you know him?" Paul rose his brow.

"Know him? He single-handedly saved this whole Pokemon center when Team Rocket attacked!" The Nurse exclaimed, causing Paul to blink. "Kicked them right back out the door with his Pikachu! I was scared at first, him being a Shadow and all, but he's actually extremely well trained! And he helped us again… granted more indirectly when he _trashed _Giovanni's Gym and officially kicked all of Team Rocket out of Kanto! He's become something of a legend here!"

Paul scowled. "Get rid of all but Murkrow, Teddiursa, Magby and Torterra. The rest are useless." he said before putting his hand on a palm scanner, registering him as a visitor. "I presume you have a room?"

"If I said no, I would be lying. Get out of my sight: I don't want to see you until they're healed," the medical professional snapped. "You're little better than Cipher."

"At least I don't use Shadow Pokemon," the Sinnohan jackass retorted as he left, going for one of the rooms.

She sighed as she looked at the Pokemon he was releasing: all good Pokemon worthy of any trainer willing to take care of them. She could tell just by looking at them that this trainer had just gone on some sort of 'catching-spree' in Sinnoh and Kanto to catch as many pokemon as possible… she could only imagine how many others had been caught and released. Normally she could apply to send them to a ranch like Oak's, but the time and paperwork that would require would take too long - and there was no guarantee that they would say 'yes' since Ranches are for Pokemon with trainers.

Joy sighed again, as she prepared to release them… but a thought crossed her mind and she paused. '_For trainers…_' she thought again, as she slowly smirked. She still had Paul's information pulled up. He wasn't even around to finalize everything like a _proper _Trainer would. So… she casually opened up Ash's own file for Pokemon transfers.

Of course she knew it would look _extremely _suspicious if a bunch of Pokemon all went to one person at once. She still needed to keep her job… but thankfully, Ash did not travel alone, as his little… 'pseudo-harem' would probably be more than happy to take in a few for themselves… plus that man, Kyoji? He only had four Pokemon to his name - the yellow Gible (which was ungodly cute), a Natu, the dancing Galvantula, and his Charizard. Though it seems he just recently caught a Marill… funny, Paul was registered with a Marill, but no sign of it… she put two and two together very quickly.

'_..not like that Sinnoh brat cares…_' Joy thought, as she casually began the transferring of all the Pokemon to Ash, Kyoji and the girls. All it took was a few minutes… and a subtle note that said '_Please take care of them, their trainer is an asshole. V.N.J._' and like that… they were off.

"Chansey?" She glanced back to where her Chansey aide, who watched her - the sole witness to what was _technically _illegal… and Joy simply gave her the 'hush' gesture. The pink Pokemon smiled, mimicking the motion.

* * *

Paul shut the door, scowling as he sat down, thinking about what the Joy said.

Ketchum? A hero? If he destroyed a gym in Sinnoh, he would be jailed. As far as Paul was concerned, anyone using a Shadow Pokemon was as bad as a Cipher Peon. A criminal just waiting to happen.

The only way to beat power was with power. To fight a Shadow Pokemon, you have to be stronger, faster, better then it. And then… you kill it.

Such was the nature of this world. Cipher taught them this. Anyone thinking otherwise was a damned fool. And fools were the _epitome _of pathetic.

"All I need to do is get stronger, better," Paul muttered as he thought over how to beat Ash's Goodra without risking another four-to-one loss.

The Sinnohan scowled as he smelled himself. "After a shower, I'll put more on," he muttered.

* * *

**Indigo Plateau - Victory Tunnel Exit - 1832 hours local time**

* * *

The rain had faded away, letting the sun burn through the sky.

"AH, MY EYES!" Kyoji cried as his eyes had to readjust to the light. "DARKNESS, MY FRIEND, WHERE HAVE YOU GONE?!"

Ash had an easier time then the others for one very simple reason. "I don't just wear this thing because it's the official League hat." he said, the brim of his hat keeping the sun from blinding him.

"That any way to treat your friends?" Sabrina deadpanned, cheating herself using her psionic powers to filter the light until her eyes adjusted.

"It's a legitimate strategy," Serena said, her own little sun hat keeping the sun off her eyes.

"SCREW ALL OF YOU!" Kyoji shouted, mostly for melodrama. "I'M MELTING! MELLLTTTTING!"

Ash outright started laughing, which the Pallet Town trainer assumed was the point. "Come on, I think I see a Pokemon Center that way," he said, pointing at a building with a Pokeball proudly displayed on it. "Or it's a store. Haven't seen many of those."

"Not since the League made it mandatory for Pokemon Centers to have a Pokemon Mart in them," Iris said, sighing as she remembered something… bad.

"Ok, seriously, guys, I can't see," Kyoji said, now serious. "Mind helping me get where we're going?"

Sabrina took his hand, smiling the whole time as Ash led them to the… supposed Pokemon Center.

* * *

20 minutes later, they discovered it WAS a Pokemon Center, with a tunnel leading to the building where the Indigo Conference would be taking place.

Right now, Ash was taking the girls to lunch. Iris had so many questions and Anabel suggested that they be there to keep Serena from attempting to break his hips.

Kyoji, meanwhile, was getting Pokemon supplies from the mart in the PokeCenter before having his Pokemon checked out.

"I swear, we are MILKING those Tauros when Ash goes to Johto…" he muttered as he filled a basket with potions, antidotes and other useful items.

"You can only get milk from a Miltank," Sabrina quipped as she grabbed some milk from the freezer section.

"You get the idea," Kyoji muttered, "A convoy of Tauros-drawn carriages would go a _long _way to helping our travel issues…"

"I know. I just wanted to make a joke." Sabrina said, smirking.

"Yeah…" Kyoji sighed "Sorry, just… that Paul guy just has me on edge…"

"Don't worry about the asshole. He is legally banned from Leagues for another two years. Indigo was early, so in 15 months, Johto, then he'll be back for Hoenn, ripe for public humiliation."

"I know…" Kyoji sighed "Just… I've met people back home with similar mindsets to him… It was an… uncomfortable reminder…"

Sabrina put her hand on his shoulder. "I understand. Anabel is freaked out by me being here." she said. "She knows I'm not the same person, but it's ingrained in her mind." She telekinetically lifted the heavy baskets out of his hands. "You check on your Pokemon. I'll pay for these. I'd ask dad, but the Rotans haven't given him his royal allowance yet."

"Right - see you at the Center," Kyoji nodded, as he walked back across the street to where the center was. As he entered, he pulled out Marill's pokeball, bringing the small Pokemon out.

"Okay…" Kyoji muttered, as he opened the terminal. "I'm gonna send you to Professor Oak, okay Marill? Just to have him look you over since he has more advanced medical care than I have right now. Okay?"

"Marill." '_Okay,_' Marill nodded in understanding.

"Good." Kyoji smiled, patting the Marill between her ears, "Just give me one sec, as I…" He blinked as he looked at his terminal. "A message? Who could that be…" He clicked it open.

…

…

…

"…the hell…?" He blinked as he saw that he suddenly had… _more _Pokemon than he last recalled. Suddenly he had a Ralts, an Aipom, a Pichu, a Vulpix, a Pachirisu, a Buneary, a Magikarp and an Eevee. "…where did _they _all come from?"

He looked at the message, which only read '_Please take care of them - V.P.C_'. which didn't exactly tell him _who _or _what _sent all these Pokemon to him. "…well, only one way to find out…"

He keyed up the terminal, activating the transfer system - as a ball of light signalled the arrival of a Pokeball. "Well… come on out, little guy…" He said, as the ball opened up… revealing the small, furry form of an Eevee.

"E-Eevee!" '_I-I'm sorry Paul, I-I'll do better next time I promise I_-' The Eevee shuddered in fear, before he opened his eyes, and glanced around "V-vee?" '_P-Paul? Where are…?_'

"Marill?!" '_Eevee?!_' Marill shouted in surprise, hopping down to its level. "Marill!" '_That is you!_'

"Eevee?" '_Marill?_' Eevee looked at the small blue ball in surprise. "Vee? Vee?" '_What happened? Where's Paul?_'

"…Marill." '_He released me…_' Marill sighed, as Eevee flinched at that, "Marill… Marill?" '_So he probably released you too… but how did you get into my new trainer's terminal?_'

"Paul?" Kyoji blinked, "How did you…" He looked at the terminal. "…how the ripe fuck did that happen?"

"Vee?" '…_did he understand me?_' The Eevee asked, looking at Kyoji as he responded to them.

"Yup - so can Ash, but… he's elsewhere…" Kyoji said, as the Eevee's eyes widened. "…how did you end up in my…" he sighed, shaking his head as he kneeled down. "Well, little guy… don't know _how _it happened, but… it looks like you and a bunch of your friends got transferred over to… me I guess…"

"…Eevee?" '_Y-you're not gonna release us, right?_' Eevee asked, looking up at him.

Kyoji bit his lip a bit - he was _not _expecting so many pokemon all at once… but if they were all Paul's pokemon… what was he supposed to do? He couldn't just… let them go! He'd be no better than him…"No." He shook his head. "I never let Pokemon go unless they want to leave… if you and…" he glanced at the terminal "…the others want to stick around with me… you're more than welcome."

"…VEE!" '_THANK YOU!_' Eevee jumped into Kyoji's arms, crying as he rubbed his face into his chest. "Eevee, Eevee, _Eevee!_" '_Thank you, thank you, _thank you! _You won't regret it, I promise! E-Even if I never evolve like P-Paul wanted me too!_'

Kyoji just smiled, petting the little bundle of fur soothingly. "It's all gonna be fine, little guy…" he assured, glancing around. "…I'm gonna have to talk to Ash about this… he has more experience taking care of so many Pokemon at once…"

* * *

**90 minutes later - PMC food court**

* * *

"Hey! Ash!" Ash glanced up, as he spotted Kyoji approaching him… oddly enough with an Eevee in his hand.

"Sup," He nodded, "Where'd you get the Eevee?"

"Uhh… long story," Kyoji said, "But, ummm… do me a favor and… check your terminal and the pokemon you got, would you?"

Ash blinked. "Sure, my Pokedex should be connected." he said, opening it up and turning it on, Zero the Porygon giving him a wave before displaying something… new.

Multiple new Pokemon. He was almost afraid he left more Safari Balls registered to him back in the he remembered why he had his dex out. Kyoji looked at it and nodded.

"…so it happened to you too, huh?" Kyoji nodded.

"…what do you mean?" Ash asked dumbfounded.

"I opened _my _terminal… and I suddenly had over _double _the amount I already had. Only had Gible, Natu, Gulvantula and Charizard when I came here, plus Marill now… but now I suddenly have a Magikarp, a Ralts, an Aipom, a Pichu, a Vulpix, a Pachirisu, a Buneary and…" he gestured to the little Eevee. "This bundle of joy here… I spent the last hour interviewing them… and guess what they all have in common?"

"What?"

"…they all used to belong to a certain jackass we just met." Kyoji deadpanned.

Ash scowled. "Paul." he said, pissed off once more. "It was stupid back in the old timeline, NOW it's just cruel for the sake of cruel."

"The weird thing is, they didn't come from him though," Kyoji said, making him blink. "I just got a note that said to… take care of them, with the initials V.P.C… no idea who or… what that's supposed to be…"

"V.N.J?" Ash said before thinking about it. There wasn't anyone he knew with those initials. Then he thought about where Paul would have to go to patch up the ones he gave a damn about. "…Nurse Joy."

"What would Nurse Joy have to…" Kyoji asked before he facepalmed. "Doh. Viridian Nurse Joy. The asshole had to go back to Viridian to heal them, he pissed off the local Joy… I think I don't need to guess the rest."

Ash chuckled. "Yeah, she gave them to us," he said, looking at the list. "Huh. Nidorino and Houndour? You know, I met a Houndour pack in Johto, last time…"

"Now… I gotta look after eleven Pokemon at once…" Kyoji muttered, letting out a sigh. "…how the hell do _you _do it? I mean… I stuck with just Charizard, Gible, Natu and Galvantula for so long because I… I didn't want to have like a dozen pokemon to look after at once, or develop a sense of favoritism among them… but I can't just abandon these guys, knowing what they've had to go through…"

Ash looked at Kyoji and sighed. "Most of the time, if they're not with me, I send them to the Ranch." he admitted. "They get all the air and food they need, not stuffed into the balls all the time. But the Pokemon I have on me… I learned a few tricks from Brock, the gym leader from Pewter I told you about?"

Kyoji snorted. "Yeah, Pikachu calls me the 'new Brock'." he snarked.

"I know the old saying's meant for Pokemon…" Ash trailed off before chuckling. "You teach me how not to fuck up with the girls, I teach you how to care for all of them at once."

Kyoji nearly fell to his knees. "Arceus BLESS you," he said before thinking about it. "Wait, you're _already _blessed by Arceus: chosen one and all that. What do I use?!"

Ash honestly laughed at the Ranseian's confusion. "Just a 'thank you' will do." he replied, smiling before looking at the Pokedex. "The big secret is rotation. Mind helping me out, Zero?"

The pixelated Porygon gave a Pory-salute before showing three 'wheels', one with a sprite of one of Ash's Pokemon. "Whenever you think they need to rest, take a break from all their worries and all that, you swap them out for another Pokemon that's spent a lot of time relaxing at the ranch." Ash explained as he 'rotated' the two left wheels, replacing Goodra with Froakie, then the top left; Quilava being rotated out for Pidgeot. "It's difficult, but I try to keep it up. I haven't swapped in Ivysaur for a while because he's busy at the ranch. He works out all the inter-species problems."

"An ambassador?" Kyoji asked, shaking his head. "That's awesome."

"Yeah." Ash said before pointing at the one sprite he hadn't moved: Pikachu. "I keep Pikachu on me at all times, though."

"Makes sense. He _is _your starter." Kyoji said before looking at the second screen."So… what Pokemon did you get? From the Center I mean?"

Ask looked at his Pokedex. "Let's see… Bellsprout, Houndour, Machomp, Sandshrew, Smoochum, Ponyta and…" he blinked, before his eyes narrowed. "…Nidorino…"

"…fuck, he let him go too…" Kyoji growled, "Does he _not _know he can evolve to Nidoking?"

"This isn't the first time." Ash said, pulling up an image of Monferno. "Monferno used to be Paul's in the last timeline. Pretty sure the jerk didn't get him this time: I'm registered as his original trainer."

"Dude, Monferno's a BADASS." Kyoji said, dumbfounded. "How in the name of the Lake Guardians _and _the Creation Dragons would he not GET that?!"

Ash frowned at remembering when he caught Chimchar. "He didn't take to Paul's style of training and he let him go," he said. "I caught him later on and treated him a lot better. He happened to be the strongest Pokemon I caught in Sinnoh as a result."

"Hehe…" Kyoji chuckled a bit. "Oh I can't _wait _for when you humiliate him… I can't wait to see your Monferno kick his ass."

"Monferno, when he evolved, had a… rivalry of sorts with an Elekid that evolved to Electivire." Ash said, whining at the reminder that, during that last fight, Infernape tore enough muscles to make it hard to move, let alone fight. "Hopefully he won't hurt himself that badly this time…"

"Still a fight to look forward to." Kyoji said before Ash frowned. "What's up?"

"I… already have a Ponyta." Ash said, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, the egg hasn't hatched yet, but… I don't want either of them to feel like one is more important than the other…"

Kyoji thought about it… before he grinned. "Sure, _you _have one…" he said, "…but do any of the girls have one?"

Ash looked back at the girls, who were sitting at a table, watching them talk before he thought about who would want a Ponyta. Who would want a… fire horse…

"It makes sense…" Kyoji shrugged. "I mean… I'm considering letting Sabrina have the Ralts I got… she's better with Psychic-types after all…"

"Yeah, and it'd be a nice gift of sorts," Ash mused with a smirk, as Kyoji blushed a bit.

"...kinda, maybe…" he nodded.

Ash smiled. "I know just who to give Ponyta to," he said.

* * *

Iris looked at the pokedex, seeing Ponyta's entry. "Aw… he's cute…" he said, making her Gible give her a look. "I mean, you're cute, but… a different kind of cute." Gible accepted this and opened his maw in an eternal Gible smile.

"I know you're scared of ice-types…" Ash said, trying not to make her relapse. "But maybe you and Ponyta can help each other?"

Iris shrugged. "I'm willing to try. But a future dragon mistress like me with only two dragons…" she said, trailing off.

"Ponyta doesn't have to fight." Ash explained gently before transferring in the little fire pony, sending Goodra back home. "I'm willing to trade you for an empty Pokeball?" he said with a smile.

Iris scoffed. "What a child." she muttered before smiling back. "Sure. I'd like to meet Ponyta."

* * *

Sabrina walked back to the center, carrying the batch of supplies with her. However, her psionic field felt a 'ping' of a Psychic-type. This caused her to pause for a moment… she didn't detect one in the town beforehand.

She decided to not think on it too hard, as she entered the Pokemon center….

"Ralts!" '_Hello!_'

Sabrina blinked as she turned… and found Kyoji standing there… with an Eevee on his shoulder. In his arms was a small, little Ralts that waved at her.

"H-Hey, Sabrina!" Kyoji smiled, gulping a bit. "Um… bit of a development while you were gone…"

"…I can see that…" She blinked. "…explain?"

"...long story short, it looks like me and Ash…" He shrugged. "...got… shanghai'd by the Nurse Joy in Viridian city to… adopt the pokemon Paul abandoned. I got a bunch but… Raltz is a Psychic-type, and...you're an expert on them, so… I asked the little one here if she'd like to be with you and… she wanted to meet you so… tada!"

Sabrina blinked in confusion before doing something her father remembered all too well. Laughing like mad, like her alternate self did when Haunter made her laugh. "Oh, the idiot is going to REGRET this." she said, smiling.

"Yeah, me and Ash thought the same thing," Kyoji chuckled, stepping closer to hand her the Raltz. "So… you wanna keep her? I mean… if you don't I-"

Sabrina gracefully took Raltz into her hands. "Hello, young one." she said, introducing herself. "My name is Sabrina. I'm nothing like the fool that abandoned you to your doom."

"Raltz." '_That's what I thought._' she muttered.

"I will not make you battle if you don't want to. But if you want to hand your former trainer his rear end…" Sabrina said, trailing off with an evil smile.

"Ral." '_I do...but I'm not strong enough._' Raltz replied. "Ral." '_I can't focus._'

"Paul has no idea how to train a psychic. I, on the other hand, am well aware, seeing as I am one." the gym leader replied. "How about I show you what you can REALLY do?"

Raltz seemed to grin before cheering, Sabrina then having a bird land on her head.

"Natu?" '_The ranch?_' her father's bird asked.

"Yes, please." Sabrina said, but just walked towards the entrance. "We're in range of the teleport dampeners, so I'll take us back to the cave so we can get there and back."

With that, Sabrina left the Pokemon Center, going out the doors.

* * *

**Indigo Plateau - Indigo Coliseum - 0854 hours local time - Day 109**

* * *

As he was wont to do, Kyril Pernon woke up needing one of two things: his girlfriend or coffee.

Today was coffee day.

"I hope you're rested and ready~" Rin said as she came into the room, missing the outer dress jacket and tie and being all too cheerful.

"Keep it down...we had a late night." he groaned. And a fun one, but he left that out.

"Revenge for last night." she all but purred. "Now, on your itinerary for today…" she gave him a mug of pure black sludge. He was going to need it. "A meeting with Lance and the Elite Four for the usual mooching of money, meetings with the Silph Corporation head and everyone's FAVORITE activity, watching teenagers beat the shit out of each other's Pokemon!"

"Stop yelling, please." Kyril said before drinking the sludge-like coffee. "And it's more humane than that. In the wild, maybe it's to the death, but here, it's until the ref says they're done."

"Yeah, yeah." Rin said. "Get dressed. I don't want you in your boxers when we deal with Agatha: that old bitch scares the shit out of me."

"Is it because she can literally feed you to Giratina?" Kyril snarked. Rin threw his shirt at his head in response.

* * *

**Path to Indigo Coliseum - 0900 hours local time**

* * *

Ash and Kyoji walked ahead of the girls, who were having a session of 'girl talk' (Janine just silently listening in as always) for Ash to get himself registered and to grant him some space.

He wasn't ready. He was slowly working on it, but he needed some space.

A Jenny at the gates snored before her Arcanine barked, making her snap awake. "I'm-I'm up!" she said, Kyoji chortling at the police woman jumping awake before noticing them. "Halt!"

Ash simply pulled his jacket open, revealing all eight badges. "Pokemon League challenger." he said. "He's here to watch, same with the girls that are coming up."

The bluenette nodded, shaking her sleepiness off. "Alright. But you have to surrender your weapons before being allowed deeper into the building." she said, Ash all but beaming at that.

"Why didn't you say so?" he demanded happily, VERY tired of carrying around three guns and a pair of swords. He wanted to feel like it was the old days again!

"You...ok?" Kyoji asked, worried.

"I have been forced to carry around guns since I left home." Ash said, "I would like _nothing_ more than to get rid of them, even if it's only for a few days."

"...you _do _realize we live in a world with magical creatures that can kill us in the wild, right?" Kyoji asked. "Going around unarmed is _suicide_."

"I'll explain inside." Ash said before the girls caught up and the Jenny waved them inside.

* * *

A rifle, two pistols (Kyoji marvelled at the old Team Rocket design) and a daisho pair of swords ("WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU HAD THOSE?! Kyoji had demanded. "I only kept them because no one wanted them!" Ash replied, explaining the Samurai to him afterward) were placed in an arms locker, locked and sealed.

Ash sighed as if a weight was lifted from him. He felt normal for once. He hated guns.

Kyoji meanwhile was at his locker. Ash peaked over and… did a double take. One Pistol, several strange stick-shaped grenades, some sort of rifle that came with multiple parts, a sawed-off-shotgun and… was that a grenade launcher? And… some weird cylinder device. "And I thought _I _had too many guns…"

"There is no such thing as too many guns, Ash." Kyoji said.

"I don't recognise most of the models…" he muttered, looking them over. "Then again, I'm not much of a gun expert…"

"Ransei has a lot of tech and weaponry that hasn't exactly been seen by the rest of the world." Kyoji explained, "Since most of its infrastructure was intact, we've had nothing to do but advance technology for the past few centuries in isolation." He pulled out the cylinder device, "Like this…" he held down a button, and a beam of plasma shot out from the cylinder - forming into a katana-like shape.

"...is that a Lightsaber?"

"Huh?" Kyoji tilted his head "No idea what _that _is, but _this _is a Beam Katana." He swung it around a few times. "Pure plasma, and so far it's been able to cut through most types of metals, with few exceptions like specific pokemon hides like the Legendaries. Interesting thing about _this _is I can adjust the power of the beam - so I can either slice and dice… or use it like a stun baton that hurts like the dickens."

"Well, at least there's a non-lethal option." Ash said grousing. "I hate this timeline."

"Here," He tossed a second cylinder to Ash. "I always carry a second as a back-up, take it… but I'd like your swords if you don't use them."

"Thanks." Ash said, looking at it. "I don't like them: the Samurai tried to kill Misty with them."

"But seriously, what's a 'lightsaber'?" he asked - even as he nerded out holding the Daisho swords. "Sounds cool. And I LIKE cool things."

Ash chuckled mirthlessly. "I think whenever Unova's movie industry gets back to its feet, I'm going to make a killing, figuratively speaking, on movie plots from my timeline." he said. "Just...I would like to share."

"And get paid for it." Kyoji said grinning.

"I never said it wouldn't go to a good cause." Ash retorted. "You can keep them, though the Rotans might want me to use them for some ceremony."

Kyoji grinned. "Sweet!" he said before putting the katana and wakizashi into his own locker. "Though...guns? Seriously? Why don't you like them?"

Ash thought back to Kaiser and how he put a revolver in his face. Then that other time in Kanto he had multiple guns pointed in his face. "I've...had them pointed at me way too many times." he finally said. "And the first person to point one at me did it to protect a Dratini. Here, he was a crazy psychopath that shot at me. I had to shoot him in the knee."

Kyoji grinned, chuckling. "I was once a nutcase like you...but I took a bullet to the knee." he said, laughing at his own joke.

"Not funny. He fell into a pool of Basculin." Ash said.

"...ouch." Kyoji winced "Not a nice way to go…"

"MORE reasons not to like them." Ash said. "I'll use them, I just won't like it."

"But… guns aren't what got him killed," Kyoji pointed out, "This guy sounded like he had _clear _mental issues."

"Yeah...but I got him killed." Ash said, wincing. "If I didn't shoot him…"

"I know you feel responsible, but really, he had it coming." Kyoji said, "I mean… imagine if it were anyone other than you? He might have killed them, but thanks to you, he won't be a danger to the people or pokemon in the future."

"Pika." '_Been telling him that for months_." Pikachu said, shrugging. "Pikapi." '_But no...HE feels responsible.'_

"I know it's not exactly nice to hear, but it's the truth." Kyoji shook his head. "Sometimes… you may run into a situation where it will be you vs them - and if you don't do everything in your power to survive…" He paused for a moment, as if thinking of something. "...Someone important to you might get killed… and you'll never forgive yourself for it..."

"...you say that like you had experience." Ash glanced at Kyoji.

The young Ranseian looked in his locker - his eyes focusing on the handgun in the locker. "Yeah… I suppose you could say that…" he nodded, closing it.

They left the lockup, Misty arguing with the Jenny over keeping her light machine gun, which made Kyoji stare.

"How-" he started.

"It's Misty." Ash said, as if that explained it. "Come on. Our Pokemon are going to need to be given some air while the other challengers get here. I'm...kinda surprised we got here first."

"Yeah…" Kyoji muttered. "Surprising…" he said, not bothering to say that when Ash wanted to rush, he often got ahead of everyone.

"So, did you give any thought on what I told you yesterday?" Ash asked, changing the subject to something more comfortable.

"Yeah… I'm working on a rotation thing like you said," Kyoji nodded, "Gible's gonna stay around, but Natu, Galvantula and Charizard agreed to be swapped out for a bit. I'm gonna be traveling with Marill, Eevee, Vulpix, Pichu and Magikarp for a while."

"Ah, you want him to go all Gyarados?" Ash smirked, and Kyoji mimicked the smirk.

"If I see that prick again and get a chance to challenge him, I'm using _exclusively _the pokemon he abandoned to fight him." He said, "He may not get the point until he's publicly humiliated, but I want to slap him around."

"I _completely _agree with that," Ash nodded.

"Yeah… kinda surprised he gave the Magikarp away though," He mused "I mean… who _wouldn't _want to grow one up into a Gyarados?"

"It's Paul," Ash shrugged. "He's impulsive - and as much as I respect all Pokemon… not everyone has the patience to help a Magikarp fully evolve. I mean, I've never caught one, but..."

"I guess…" Kyoji nodded, frowning. "But… I might have Oak look at him, because he seems like he might be sick or something…"

"Huh?" Ash tilted his head. "How so?"

"Well… I know Ransei and Alola have different variants to specific pokemon, but…" he pulled out his Pokeball, letting it out by the water.

"Karp!" The Magikarp swam around a bit. But Ash blinked… Why was its scales so… no way…

"Magikarp aren't _supposed _to be gold, right?" Kyoji said in concern as the Golden Magikarp swam around the small lake happily. "I mean… he _seems _fine, but neither in Ransei or Alola are there variants for Magikarp, so I'm kinda worried…"

Ash stared at the golden koi before he surfaced. "Karp." '_Hello._' said the shiny.

"Kyoji… that's a _shiny _Pokemon." Ash said, somewhat dumbfounded.

"…a what Pokemon?" Kyoji rose an eyebrow at that. "I mean… its gold, yeah, so of _course _he's shiny."

"Shiny!" Ash stressed. "Ok, you've seen my Noctowl, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Kyoji nodded, "Kinda weird his feathers are a different color from others though… why?"

"He's a shiny." Ash said, pulling out the pokedex entries for Noctowl, showing the normal and shiny color schemes. "They're VERY rare Pokemon, like one in a hundred thousand or something. And I know what Shiny Gyarados looks like." he then pulled up the entries for Magikarp and Gyarados, showing the shiny form and the normal, the golden karp matching PERFECTLY.

Kyoji looked at the entry, then at the Magikarp. Then at the entry… and then the Magikarp… his eyes began to grow as wide as dinner planes, and his jaw dropped. "…holy shit that's awesome!" He exclaimed, looking back at the Golden Magikarp. "And… and Paul was willing to just… let this go?! Red is my _favorite color_! This is awesome!"

"It's _Paul_. When he's angry, he doesn't think straight." Ash said, shrugging. "And… well, I handed him his ass. He's probably at Viridian right now, realizing exactly what he did and facepalming or something."

"Oohohohoh…" Kyoji giggled as he knelt down, petting the Magikarp. "You, me and Gible are gonna be _good _friends,"

"Karp!" '_Yay!_'

* * *

**In Viridian, same time**

* * *

Paul yawned as he awoke, then realized that he released his shiny Magikarp in his annoyed haze.

"FUCK!" he cursed.

* * *

**Back at Indigo**

* * *

"…wait," Ash raised a finger. "…you've never heard of Shiny's before then?"

"…no?" Kyoji shrugged "I mean… like Alola, Ransei has some variants to common Pokemon - like you've seen Gible and Galvantula… but they always have a type change as well. These… These are still the same type they were originally." Koyji then looked at the Pokedex. "…is there a Shiny Gible?"

"There's shinies for every species." Ash said, smiling. "Some look cool, like Gyarados being red and Noctowl being gold, but some...don't look great. Shiny Gible looks nice though." he pulled up the dex entry, showing the familiar smiling land shark, but with a light blue body and a yellow belly, making Kyoji feel like this was familiar.

"…awwwww…" Kyoju fawned. "He's adorable…"

"Shiny Garchomp, you can barely notice. You can only tell when it's released, with the sparkles." Ash explained.

"…Sparkles?" Kyoji asked.

"Yeah, they do that when they exit their Pokeballs." Ash said. "You probably didn't see it because he remateriallized in water." He then offered him the Pokedex. "Want to take a look?"

"Is Arceus God?" Kyoji asked rhetorically. Ash smiled and surrendered the dex to him and he looked through them.

"Whoa…" Kyoji's eyes were wide as he scanned through the different types of Shinies. "Shiny Charizard looks metal as fuck…"

"You take a look through all of them." Ash said, knowing how he felt whenever he saw a new Pokemon and wanted to know about it. That was curbed by the fact that he… basically met every Pokemon there was, even some of those weird Ultra Beasts. Poipole was new, though. "Have fun!"

Koyji nodded as he started wandering around, getting to Pikachu's entry. "He's gold!?" he cried.

* * *

**30 minutes later**

* * *

Kyoji was sitting down, going through the known shinies. Mew was GREEN. That weirded him out.

"Hey!" called a familiar voice, making him look up to see…

"Oh hey," Kyoji blinked, "Weren't you from the whole Mewtwo thing?"

"Oh!" Neesha jumped a bit, before she smiled "Hey! Yeah, I remember you - you were with Sabrina, right?" She glanced around. "She's… not here, is she?"

"Yeah, we're in town, I was just looking around," he shrugged. "Well, you're looking good. Going for the leagues?"

"Eh, maybe - maybe not," Neesha sighed, "I mean… look, to compete again, I need to challenge Sabrina and… I know she's not the same, but… I just don't want to fight her again… I've been thinking of shifting gears to be a Coordinator, maybe start those Pokemon Contests I've been hearing about."

"I've heard good things about those," Kyoji nodded, "You'll do fine - I remember you having a Rapidash, they'd do great."

"Yeah, Blazer likes to put on a show…" Neesha giggled a bit… Kyoji had to admit, she was pretty cute when she laughed-

'_NO!_' Kyoji mentally slapped himself as hard as he could. '_BAD THOUGHT! NO! Sabrina WILL KILL YOU if you think of another woman like that!_'

"You okay?" Neesha tilted her head in concern.

"Y-Yeah… well, nice seeing you," He nodded, "I gotta get going, don't wanna keep my friends waiting."

"Oh sure!" Neesha nodded, "Say, if you've got the time… maybe we can hang out, ya know?"

"Uh… sure, yeah," He nodded, meanwhile he gulped as he walked away. '_Just friends, just friends._' He cautioned in his mind. '_Sabrina will see into your head, see you are not hiding anything, and you'll be fine - everything is fine…_'

Kyoji sat as Sabrina looked through one of the stalls. '…_she hasn't called me out yet…_' He thought, letting out a sigh of relief '_Good… she probably looked in my head, saw there was nothing going on between me and Neesha. We're just friends now - that's it._'

For some… odd reason, as he thought about Neesha, a stray thought of her in a bikini popped in his head '_NONONO!_' He _physically _slapped himself - banishing the thought quickly - glancing at Sabrina in a panic… but she didn't seem to react. '_Phew… good… Arceus, I thought I was a dead man for a moment…_'

Sabrina meanwhile… was trying her best not to cackle, Natu and Raltz laughing psychically as she messed with him. '_This is just rich,_' She thought, using her powers to send another psychic image of Neesha to Kyoji - giggling silently at his flustered reactions. Oh, she read his mind alright - and she knew Kyoji was doing his damndest to remain faithful to her, and she loved him for that. Though his… _strictness _for being mindful of her own mind-reading abilities was both comical and sad.

Oh she can elect to _not _read his mind - it's not like she's 24/7 reading every mind around her. _That _would be a royal pain, and she'd pity anyone who'd have to live through that kind of hell if they couldn't turn it off… unless they were assholes of course. But, like how Kyoji was helping Ash… Sabrina wanted to help Kyoji in a… similar matter. Sure, by law Ash _had _to have multiple wives… but nothing said nobody else could as well… well, maybe in Unova, but that's just one region.

Still, it was going to take some time. Ash had self-esteem and past-timeline daddy issues to work through. Kyoji… well, he needed help, too.

'_Slow and steady wins the race._' she thought to herself… before sending an image of Neesha in VERY revealing swimwear to Kyoji, making him mentally scream.

* * *

**Challenger's waiting area - 1132 hours local time**

* * *

The eight-badge people started pouring in. Ash recognized many of them: Jeanette Fisher, the one with the freaky Bellsprout, a few others…

Richie… Sweet Arceus did Ash _hate _Team Rocket for forcing him to lose. Hopefully though, assuming they were keeping their promise, that _wouldn't _happen this time around.

He wanted an honest and pure rematch with Richie.

"Char…" '_I am NOT repeating the same mistake._' Charizard said, Ash having transferred him in. Salamence knew better than to try and usurp his 'alpha' title. Besides, Charizard wasn't the alpha and he knew it. _That _title belonged to Pikachu.

"I know, Charizard," As said, patting his back. "Don't worry. Team Rocket's not going to bother doing anything stupid. The only thing we need to worry about is having a good, clean fight."

"Charr." '_That doesn't change anything._' Charizard said before the door opened, revealing two faces Ash hadn't seen in almost two weeks.

The wig was impressive and Ash knew he was good at disguises, but James wasn't even TRYING this time. "Welcome, challenger!" he said, pushing in a concession stand. "Your opponents are getting settled and-"

"James, I know it's you." Ash said, making him pause. "I might pretend a lot, but I'm _not_ stupid."

"Well, could you at least let us keep our cover?!" Jessie yelled as Meowth poked his head out from under the cart. "We are DEEP in League territory. LANCE is five floors above us and if he learns who we are-"

The door on the other size opened, letting in Kyoji and Sabrina. "Seriously, they don't have anything like-" he paused as he looked at the TRio. "…Have we met?"

Ash sighed. "Kyoji Akamura, meet Jessie, James and Meowth." he introduced, the TRio laughing sheepishly. "They're good at hiding: sometimes I don't notice them."

"Yeah, sometimes." Meowth muttered as he climbed out. "You're lucky da boss wants us to keep you covered! Otherwise we'd be with that nutcase Patel! Who do ya think taught us all these tricks?"

"He wasn't kidding: the Meowth DOES talk." Sabrina said with mild surprise. "And _vocally_, too."

Kyoji's eyes _immediately _turned to Meowth, squatting down to his level "Holy shit he wasn't kidding…" he muttered. "…a pokemon talking without needing psionics… how do you do it?"

"Self-taught, actually," Meowth informed. "Found some books and… well, I committed to learning human speech…" he cupped his chin in though. "I mean… really, any pokemon could learn it I guess, they just need the attention span and determination to actually do it…"

"So Gible COULD learn…" he said, nodding to himself. "Don't need it anymore, but hey."

"Yeah, you got the twerp over there to translate." Jessie said.

"Oh no, I can do it too," Kyoji waved his hand, indicating his head. The TRio gawked at him. "Gift from Arceus."

"…weird people just follow you _everywhere_, don't they?" Jessie asked Ash.

"…he's good company," Ash shrugged.

"So… you're the guys who have been following Ash around for… a while?" Kyoji looked at them all.

"We're just following orders," James sighed. "Boss wanted to keep him safe so his mother didn't go after Team Rocket… a lot of good _that _did us… now we're just following him to make sure if he _does _approach some Rocket operation in another league, we can let them know so they can get the _hell _out."

"It hasn't been easy…" Meowth muttered. "The Authors writing as a new one every day…" He paused for a minute before glaring. "They can't hear you! Shut up!"

"…is he okay?" Kyoji pointed at Meowth in concern. "What does he mean about… 'authors'?"

"Honestly, I think they're a little nuts." Ash said, getting up. "I mean, that Shadow Bolt they got… Wasn't fun to get hit by. Arceus knows I probably got my brain scrambled by a thundershock or two early on. …You got any popcorn and ketchup for Pikachu? We're gonna need a snack before we go up there."

"Well, you got five matches before you're up," James said before picking up a small carton. "5 Poke."

"You kidding me? I could get bigger bags back home for that much!" Ash retorted, even as he gave them a bill.

"It's to fix our Magikarp sub. It got wrecked at New Island." Meowth explained. "Can't guard your ass stealthily if we can't keep from being seen."

PONG-FUISH!

"WOBBUFFET!" '_Damn right! I had to keep them from drowning!_' said the saluting psychic-type.

"…When-"

"A while back." all three answered.

"…you have a Magikarp Submarine?" Kyoji raised his brow.

"Yeah, its… primitive, but stealthy." James sighed. "I mean… it's the most advanced thing we're gonna get, since it's not like we can afford things like giant robots anymore…"

"…you had giant robots?" Kyoji blinked.

"Yeah, _had_, but the boss cut us off." Meowth sighed. "They ain't easy or cheap to build with how the world is now and all.. Plus, Authors criticize us for using them in the first place, saying they were unrealistic or 'stupid'…"

"U-huh…" Kyoji nodded slowly. "So… just the Submarine then?"

"It's not motorized, so we have to pedal it ourselves…" James pulled up his pants a bit… revealing _extremely _toned legs, as were Jessies.

"…shit, you've never skipped leg day…" Kyoji muttered.

"You _have _to be this fit when you keep crashing, getting blown up, carried away, scorched…" Meowth just counted off the various… _things _that had happened to them.

"…how are you still _alive_?" Kyoji questioned.

"Authors." All three said in unison.

Kyoji was about to speak… but just shook his head. "Alright fine - Authors."

Ash made a mental note that the TRio had all of their Pokemon, at least he assumed. "…You don't have a Mimikyu, do you?" he asked.

"Under lock and key! We're not letting that thing out until we teach it Pikachu is not murder material!" Jessie said. They gave Sabrina a free lollipop and Kyoji a drink before GTFOing.

"…They are weird." Sabrina said before opening her candy treat.

"I agree, but here, weird is GOOD!" Kyoji declared, popping open his drink. "They seem like an okay bunch - just caught in the wrong crowd is all."

"…yeah, kinda." Ash nodded "I mean, I _hate it _when they'd try to steal my Pikachu or whatever other Pokemon I encountered that day… but I'd be lying if I didn't admit they helped us out in some major situations… like the whole Orange Islands debacle… but I have to remind myself they've also gotten me _into _a lot of situations as well so…" he waved his hand a bit. "Eehhh.. They're… _neutral _at this point - to be determined."

"Eh… I wouldn't mind hanging out with them," Kyoji shrugged, taking a sip from his drink. "If nothing else, it'd be interesting the stories they'd tell."

Ash sighed and closed his eyes and thought about his possible opponents. Skyla did the same thing, but there was a big difference between him and her.

He didn't take those 'air battles' seriously.

* * *

**VIP Skybox - Kanto Coliseum - 1153 hours local time**

* * *

Charles Goodshow was an old man. The massive size of his white beard showed that.

He had seen war, peace and this plague unleashed by Cipher. For almost 60 years, he had led efforts against the Shadow, first as a warlord before Samuel Oak recruited him to fix what was left of the former URN. 25 years of fighting to patch together the fractured provinces. Then he and Samuel founded the modern League to replace the old which died with the Cipher War.

But he was getting old. This would likely be one of his last Leagues. It was a good thing he had a replacement lined up.

But first things first. The tens of thousands that had made their way by ferry and flying-type to watch the competition had to be addressed, as he walked up to the microphone, like he had for the last 35 years.

"Greetings, everyone!" he said cheerfully. "And welcome to the 35th Annual Kanto Pokemon Conference! Whether you are watching in person, listening in at home or participating in the Conference itself, I hope you enjoy yourselves as newcomers, veterans and master trainers alike show their stuff!"

And prove that these children could actually keep the damn plague in check, but that went unsaid.

"And now, without further-" he started before a shadow formed over the stadium, circling the building before coming into his line of sight.

It was a giant bird, wings seemingly made of fire while the body looked more like an immortal crane. Moltres, the Legendary Flame Pokemon.

"Well, that's a surprise!" Goodshow said, even as Hoenn Champion Steven Stone, standing behind him, stared at the bird in awe.

"I have never seen Moltres in person," he said as the bird inhaled and torched the brazer where the ceremonial torch would be lit by a runner before perching on the northern edge of the building.

"Incredible! Ladies and gentlemen, Moltres has decided to grace the League!" Goodshow said, smiling. "This conference is off to a great start and er haven't even begun the main events!"

* * *

"This is _not_ going to end well," Ash said as he looked at Moltres.

"It's a legendary." Anabel said, honestly confused. "Why would this be a bad thing?"

"Because EVERY TIME a legendary's shown up, everything goes downhill faster than Whitney's Miltank using Rollout!" Ash retorted, obviously on edge.

"That's oddly specific," Iris noted.

Ash sighed. "Yeah, I have personal experience," he said before the PA pinged.

"_Ash Ketchum, please report to the south field entrance_." a female voice called out. "_Ash Ketchum, southern field entrance_."

"Looks like you're up first." Serena said, giving him a hug that made him choke somewhat from the force she exerted on his chest before letting him go. "Good luck!"

Ash nodded, slowly getting out of there and making his way to the halls. Once he was gone, he ran as fast as he could.

Serena was getting BETTER, but she still scared the crap out of him sometimes.

* * *

5 minutes later, Ash came out of the dugout, walking up onto a deis where he would be commanding his battle against…

"Give a round of applause for Ash Ketchum, who seems to be turning into his mother's successor!" Goodshow said, the crowd actually cheering for him. His mother must've been popular as a trainer.

"Let's see if Pallet Town's rising star can take on the man calling himself the Astounding Mandi!" the head of the League back in the old timeline said before Ash groaned, resisting the urge to facepalm as the field was changed out for a water battlefield. THAT guy? His magic tricks weren't exactly great.

"Oi! Ketchum!" yelled Mandi as his head slowly appeared from the northern entrance, having a very… different accent-

Ash stared, bug-eyed at Mandi's outfit. Last time, he had a garish pink jacket on.

This time, he had a white shirt, the band was still there and his little scarf was red… and he was wearing a skirt. A very long, PLAID skirt - and carrying a weird bag with horns poking out of it.

"…why are you wearing a skirt?" Ash questioned.

"Skirt? Bah, ya daft bastard, this here be a kilt!" Mandi declared, in the deepest south-Gallarn accent Ash has ever heard. "It be a sign of Galarian pride!"

"…you are. WILLINGLY. Wearing. A SKIRT." Ash said, his right eye twitching at the idea someone WILLINGLY wore women's clothing. Cilan didn't count: HE was already screwed in the head.

"Don't be disrespect'n my people!" He exclaimed, adjusting the bag on his side - putting one of the horns in his mouth…

**BGM: "Wild Area Theme" Pokemon Sword & Shield OST (its the only non-remix Pokemon song with Bagpipes I could find)**

Ash would have said his skills with the… instrument were good...but he could not, for the life of him, get off the fact that anyone outside of Harley, (he owed him a kick to the balls for May) Cilan or… well… GIRLS was willingly wearing a skirt.

"What you starin at, ya wee posh cunt?!" He shouted. "We gonna have a Pokemon fight or what?!"

"…You're right." he said, nodding. "The sooner we get this over with, the less I have to stare at your skirt."

"IT'S A FOOKING KILT!" Mandi yelled before retrieving a Pokeball. "Teach tis hafwit a lesson, Seadra!" he yelled before tossing it, releasing the water-type Dragon Pokemon into the water.

Ash thought about who to send out. He didn't bring Squirtle or any of his flyers with him for this fight and there were few platforms.

"Make due with what you have." he muttered before picking a ball and throwing it. "Go, Quilava!" The ball snapped open, sending out the Johto fire starter, who spun in midair before landing on a platform with a 'Qui!', the crowd cheering while some cooed at how cute she was.

"A fir'-type? Yur bonkers, laddie!" Mandi said. "Seadra's gonna eat 'im up an' spit him out!"

"Qui." '_I'm a GIRL, you skirt-wearing freak._' Quilava retorted, shooting off an Ember at him, only to hit a psychic barrier.

"That will cost you, Challenger Ketchum-" the referee said. Ash looked at him.

"Quilava's a girl. She doesn't like it when people mistake her for a boy." Ash explained.

"Qui." '_Damn straight!_' Quilava said, VERY annoyed..

"Oh shite, sorry!" Mandi apologized. "Cannae tell a damn thing fram ova here!"

"You can't tell _period_," Ash said, only learning Quilava was a girl AFTER he got sent back.

"Anywa', Seadra! Agility, th'n Water Gun the wee lass out o' her miery!" Mandi commanded, Seadra glowing with psychic energy before shooting towards Quilava.

"Dra!" '_Down you go!_' said the Dragon Pokemon, firing pressurized water at Quilava, who just used Aerial Ace to dodge, then smack the seahorse in the side of his face before using him as a springboard to jump into the air, using Quick Attack to jump onto the platform opposite of Ash, below Mandi.

"Qui!" '_You were saying, seahorse?_' Quilava mocked before rearing up on her hind legs. "Lava!" '_Let's dance_!'

"Flame Wheel, Defense Curl and Aerial Ace!" Ash called out, using Quilava's favorite combination of attacks. "Then Tackle him!"

Quilava jumped into the air, spinning as she caught fire.

"Aw, feck." Mandi said, knowing would hurt. "DODG' ET, SEADRA!"

"Dra!" '_It's got Aerial Ace as a base, you idiot! You CAN'T dodge that_!' Seadra said, making an attempt to dive under the fireball. But he was too slow, the attack hitting the seahorse, the real damage coming from getting hit in the chest before Quilava spun over him, rolling on the water.

"QUI!" '_WWWWWWWWHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!_' cried Quilava, having the time of her life as she rolled on the water's surface.

* * *

In the stands, Kyoji watched Quilava do her thing.

"That...is awesome." he said, Gible nodding.

* * *

Seadra groaned before getting smacked again but the rolling ball of fire, Quilava giggling the entire time.

"Oi! Seadra!" Mandi shouted, "Don' jas sit dar! Git up and hit'er! Shoot'a with a wa er gun!"

Seadra spat more water at Quilava, but while the Agility boost made Seadra faster, the Volcano Pokemon was even quicker, rolling on the water's surface like a ball on a table.

"Aerial Ace and Tackle!" Ash called out. Quilava disappeared before using both the flying and normal-type attacks at once, slamming Seadra into the water. Bouncing back, she came to a stop on a platform, her head swaying like mad.

"Qui…" '_I'm dizzy. It was really fun…_' she said as Seadra...went belly up.

"Seadra is unable to battle!" the referee said, raising his right hand flag towards Ash. "The winner of round one is Ash Ketchum!"

Quilava's head thumped on the platform, but not because she was tired. She was REALLY dizzy.

"Tha's a fookin' draw!" Mandi demanded. "Quilava's ou' like a light!"

Quilava shook her head, looking at Mandi. "Qui!" '_Ret-to-go, as the yellow Gible would say_!' Quilava cried.

"That's enough, Quilava," Ash said. "Take a rest." he returned Quilava to her ball, clipping it to his belt.

"Initiate field change!" the ref said, the water field getting covered up, Seadra being automatically returned to his ball.

'_They're swapping fields in the middle of a match_?' Ash thought to himself. '_I don't mind, but it's new._'

"Amazing! Ash has beaten Mandi's famous Seadra!" the announcer said. "A stunning performance made even greater by the fact that Seadra won Mandi the last Kanto Conference and Ash defeated him with a type-disadvantaged Pokemon!"

Another arena rotated in, the shutters opening to reveal a field filled with grass, shrubs and dirt patches. At least Ash could rely on the ground not to give under his Pokemon's feet.

"Challengers, prepare your second Pokemon!" the ref ordered.

"I mad' a mistak' underestimat'in you, boy!" Mandi said, pulling out another ball. "Tak' im down a notc', Exeggutor!" with that, he tossed out the ball, releasing the stunted palm tree form of the Kantoan version of Exeggutor, one Ash had missed during his time in Alola.

'…_how IS that a Dragon-type?_' He thought to himself, shaking his head, as he pulled out his next Pokeball. "Go! Krabby!" He tossed it out, releasing his first crab-like pokemon.

The tiny crab had bulked up since he got his ass handed to him by Daisy's Spheal, even if he hadn't physically grown bigger.

"Kooky." '_Ready for your ass kicking?_' Krabby asked, clacking his claws.

"…A fookin' CRAB?!" Mandi demanded.

"Not just any crab." Ash said, pointing at Exeggutor. "Show him what you got, Krabby!"

"Kook." '_With pleasure._' said the red crab, opening one of his pinchers, a beam of cold ice firing from it and slamming into the walking palm tree, who stumbled backwards.

"Tor-Tor-Tor!" '_Ow, damn it that hurts!_' '_Power through the pain, gentlemen!_' '_MORE! MORE PAIN! AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHHAHA!_' said the three heads of the Exeggutor, making Ash cringe, especially at the last one.

"Great, an Exeggutor that gets off pain." Ash muttered. "Can my life get ANY worse?"

"Da fekke you talkin' bout?!" Mandi yelled. "Exeggutor! Seed Bomb!"

"Krabby, jump!" Ash ordered. Krabby eyesmiling before using his springy legs to leap into the air, even as Exeggutor's tree crown grew, then launched, about ten coconut-sized seeds, launching them at Krabby's last location.

Seed Bomb's weakness: once launched, it would land in the same location. There was no way to change it mid-flight.

Krabby landed about ten feet away, then scuttled into a bush. Exeggutor fired at it and destroyed it, the cloud parting to show a dead bush. But no Krabby.

"Kooky." '_Hello._' Exeggutor's heads looked down to see Krabby in the dirt, right under his trunk with a pincher steaming with ice-type energy. "Kook." '_Goodbye._' Ice Beam slammed into one of the Exeggutor's heads, freezing it solid. The other two heads cried out in fear.

"Tor!" '_MOE!_' '_Come on, Curly, we can win this!_' said the two heads, Stomping on Krabby's hole, but the crab dug under them as they raised their leg appearing behind them before the claws glowed green.

"Kooky-Kooky." '_Gotcha, bitch._' said the crab as he used X-Scissor on the tree, making it cry in pain.

And Ash didn't even know Krabby could DO that.

"Us' Psychic ya dumb tree!" Mandi yelled as Krabby whacked the tree again with X-Scissor, following up with Crabhammer, slamming a shaking claw into the tree, making it trip onto the frozen face.

"Kooky!" '_TIMBER!_' cried the crab as Exeggutor fell, unable to fight further.

"Exeggutor is unable to battle! The winner is Ash and Krabby!"

"Well Shite…" Mandi sighed, returning the eggplant pokemon back to its ball. "Well, ain'tcha da cleva one, ya little tart?"

"Kook." '_Fuck you,_' Krabby said before he started glowing, the light of evolution covering him as he grew, both ins body and his power, but mostly his right claw, turning into a giant hammer crab.

When it was over, Krabby was Kingler. "Kook." '_Guess the weight training paid off!_' he said, eyesmiling as he did.

"I think you need a rest, big guy," Ash said, returning Kingler to his ball before the shutters closed for a field change.

"And that's two for two, folks!" said the announcer. "Ash Ketchum is so good at battling, he doesn't even need to talk for his Pokemon to know what he wants them to do!"

…Yeah, more like Ash trusted them to fight without his direct say-so. He only took command when he had a plan and needed to follow through on it.

"Challengers, prepare your final Pokemon!" the ref said, the big monitor showing they were only allowed three Pokemon each.

"Alri't, you cheeky bas'ard! Time to end this!" Mandi said as the field changed to a rocky terrain, covered in boulders and loose sand. Ground and Rock-types would have a field day here.

"O'righ, time to end this!" Mandi said, tossing out his final ball. "Ga, Golbat!" And out came the flying mouth Pokemon. The second (and for the longest time, Ash thought it was the final) stage of the Zubat line, the blue bat screeching loudly.

…Yeah, he was sticking to form. "Go, Bayleef!" Ash called, sending out his trust Johto grass-type.

"You're kidding!" the announcer said in shock, though in Ash's opinion, he was being overly dramatic. "Ladies and gentlemen, Ash Ketchum is continuing a trend! Using type-disadvantaged Pokemon, yet coming out on top!"

* * *

Up in the skybox, Kyril was watching the fight with interest. "Not often that you find someone who can properly counter the type chart like that," he mentioned. "From what I've seen, most trainers treat that chart as semi-sacrosanct, yet Ketchum turns it on its head."

"So far, he's using speed to keep them from getting hit." said the blue-haired Clair Wataru, Gym Leader of Blackthorn City, who was wearing… essentially a swimsuit and a small cape. Rin promised him death if he stared. Either death in the literal sense or death of their sex lives: Kyril did NOT know and didn't want to find out. "He's been a trainer for what, three months?"

Her older cousin nodded. "And likely been coached by his _excessively _terrifying mother…" he added dryly. "That is the only reasonable explanation for why he's dominating a three time conference winner… on his first try. I mean, there's conspiracy theory nonsense, but who cares about that?"

"Like what?" Surge asked, his freaky ass RED Magneton hovering above them. Seriously, WHY WAS IT RED?!

"Time travel! But that makes no sense: the boy is 14!" Lorelei said before glancing at Mandi again. "WHY is he wearing that stupid skirt again?! I thought I told you to ban him if he wore that thing! Skirts only work for women!"

"Pretty sure Southern Galar is filled with men that wear those-" Erika added before the taller, bustier redhead glowered at the Celadon Gym Leader.

"I DON'T CARE!" she roared.

Kyril and Rin just sighed. "And this is why neither of us became trainers…" Rin said, rubbing her left temple. "They eventually go INSANE."

* * *

"Are you bloody daft?!" Mandi yelled. "What is WRONG wit' you?! Ignoring th' da'n type chart like it's just som'th'n you DO!"

"…Speak Kantoan. I can BARELY get what you're saying." Ash said, FINALLY getting tired of the butchered language. "Please, speak CLEARLY or just SHUT UP."

"I AM spe'kin clearly!" Mandi retorted. "Oh, fook it. Golbat, Confuse Ray!"

"Dodge it, then use Sweet Scent and Razor Leaf!"Ash retorted.

"Bay!" '_You got it, sweetheart_!' Bayleef answered, running behind a rock, the incoming sonic rays hitting the ground harmlessly. Bayleef swung her head-leaf around, putting out sweet perfume-like scents. At least they weren't overly saturated like Erika's shop.

"Pika!" '_I thought you got over that!_' Pikachu said. Ash blinked and gave him a look of confusion.

"Over what?" Ash asked.

"Ova this! Wing attack!" Mandi retorted, Golbat swinging in towards Bayleef, even as she whipped her leaf around, razor-sharp leaves hitting Golbat but not stopping him from angling his wings to smack Bayleef in the head, a very audible crack being heard from halfway across the stadium.

"Keep it up!" Mandi cheered. "Leech Life! Suck 'er dry!"

"That sounds disgusting-Tackle and Stomp! Keep Stomping him!" Ash ordered quickly. Bayleef shook her head to make the pain go away, only for Golbat to sink his teeth into her neck, wrapping around her neck with his VERY flexible body.

"Bay!" '_You know what, FUCK YOU_!' she cried, hearts suddenly flowing out her head leaf and smacking into Golbat's skin.

"Gol!...Gol…?" '_Hey! What… huh…?_' Golbat looked up at Bayleef who looked… oddly attractive suddenly. "Baaat-GOL" '_Pretty-OW!_' Bayleef swung her neck around - grabbing the Golbat off of her neck before slamming it back into the ground - and proceeded to stomp down _hard _on Golbat… again… and again.

"Bay! Bay! Bay! BAY!" '_Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! FUCK YOU!_' Bayleef shouted, over and over with every stomp.

"Stop Stompin' my bat!" Mandi shouted, the crowd actually laughing at Mandi's bat getting his ass handed to him.

"An Attract and Stomp! Not exactly creative, but if it works, it works!" the announcer said as one of Golbat's bones FINALLY broke and the bat groaned, a sign he was no longer going to be fighting. "And Golbat is out!"

"Ah call bullshit!" Mandi yelled. "Attract's a pussy mov'! Fight like a man!"

The crowd disagreed as they started cheering 'Bayleef' repeatedly. They REALLY didn't like Mandi. Ash didn't blame them: anyone willing to wear a skirt without being forced into it needed their head examined.

"The battle is over!" the ref announced. "While somewhat frowned on, the Attract was used for the preservation of Bayleef's life as the bat was drinking her blood in dangerous amounts. Ash Ketchum is the victor!"

The crowd applauded, drowning out Mandi's horridly broken cursing.

"Ah, fook you, Ketchum!" he snapped before returning his Golbat and storming off.

"Pika!" '_No. Fuck YOU_!' Pikachu snapped before sending a weak Thunderbolt at Mandi's skirt, setting it on fire.

Mandi screamed and ran inside, much to the crowd's amusement.

"I should penalize you for that." the ref said to Ash. "Attacking a trainer is not allowed."

"I didn't ask Pikachu to attack him and he aimed at that eyesore of a skirt." Ash said, shuddering. "At least he'll put on a pair of pants now…"

The ref thought about it… then nodded. "I hate to say it, but you're right. It's worse because he doesn't wear anything UNDER that skirt."

* * *

Anabel and Sabrina both winced at something that only they could hear.

"…what is Ash's issue with guys in skirts?" Kyoji asked, "Even _I _know Kilts are culturally important to southern Galar…"

"In his last timeline… Ash was forced to crossdress a lot," Sabrina answered, "He… does not like the fact that he did, and has a mission to… _get payback_…"

"…seems like a silly thing to be mad about," Kyoji shrugged.

"I'm sure you wouldn't be thinking that if you…" Sabrina began, before she blinked, and blushed a bit. "…oh…"

"…look, when you work for Intelligence, you have to do _weird _things," Kyoji defended, blushing a bit. "Not _proud _of it, but… it happened…"

The two were silent for a moment, before Sabrina looked at him with an amused smirk. "Seriously, though… _Kiki_?"

"IT WAS ON THE SPOT!" He exclaimed, "I had to think of a fake name fast! Don't judge me!"

"…Yeah, as I was saying… he had to crossdress to get into a gym because he said he didn't like perfume-" Sabrina started.

"THAT is dumb." Kyoji interjected.

"Yeah, this time he used legal nonsense to make Erika go 'shit, now I HAVE to fight him."

"…gonna take a wild guess and say he called himself 'Ashley' when he crossdressed?" Kyoji asked.

"Pretty much. Wasn't his idea." Sabrina said, shrugging.

"Whose WAS it?" he asked.

"You remember those two with the talking Meowth?" the greenette asked dryly.

Kyoji blinked as he got it. "…holy shit…"

She nodded. "Yeah, his timeline was _weird_."

* * *

"Fooking bastard!" Mandi yelled as he got out of the building, now wearing pants because his kilt… no longer existed.

"Caw." Mandi then looked up to see Moltres glaring at him.

"Aw, _shite_." the Galarian-raised trainer said before Moltres torched him.

* * *

Pokemon League Database Access: ****************************** Access Granted

Entry 44: Pokemon League Safety Measures

All Pokemon League matches taking place inside official league buildings require blast shields or psionic barriers to protect spectators and trainers alike for legal and safety reasons.

If an official league gym is not operating with barriers, please contact a police officer or Pokemon League official. Your safety is our top priority.

* * *

Entry 45: Spectating Legendary Pokemon

It is not unusual to find a Pokemon watching a Pokemon match to learn how to do a certain attack, but legendaries watching a fight is rare, only happening twelve times in the last century.

These rare events are to be treasured by anyone that sees a Legendary watching a Pokemon battle, especially one at a League tournament.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: …Mandi is Scottish. Don't like it? Too bad. The Southern half of Galar is literally Scotland: turn a map of the UK upside down, you got Galar. **

**Redemption's Avenger: Yeah, Mandi's our way of doing the Scottish Trainer, cause Gloria's like, what, five in the current timeline? Anyway, it's funny.**

**117Jorn: *Plays Amazing Grace on Bagpipes***

**Ron the True Fan: That's for funerals. …On that note…**

* * *

**Omake: …Why won't they DIE?**

117Jorn sighed as he looked at Ron. "…you know I _really _don't feel good about this, right?"

"Hey, its for the sake of the story - and we have plans." Ron defended, pulling the lid off of the big red button. "It's gotta happen."

117Jorn shook his head. "Fine, just… hit it." He sighed, as Ron shrugged - and pressed the button. The story begins… with the end of the universe as everything violently just… winked out of existence.

"There, it's done." Ron clapped his hands. "Story's begun."

"Fine…" 117Jorn sighed again, looking at the void of nothingness. "Let's get this…" his eyes caught the glimmer of something sparkling in the distance. "...what the hell is-"

*_SMACK_*

"…BULLSHIT!"

"Huh?" Ron turned around, "What are you… oh WHAT THE FUCK?!"

There, clearly visible, were three people. Two humans. One a Pokemon. A Meowth, to be precise.

Takeshi, there to provide feedback and assistance when needed, facepalmed. "Can ANYTHING kill those idiots?!"

"I literally destroyed an _entire timeline_. That kills EVERYTHING!" Ron telled. "It's a multiversal constant: a universe dies, everything IN that universe dies with it! WHY THE HELL AREN'T THEY DEAD?!"

Takeshi just groaned. "Something makes me think THEY are a multiversal constant, too," he muttered. "As long as one universe containing them survives… so do they. It's like they have some kind of latent connection to the Kaleidoscope."

Ron blinked. "The what?" he asked.

Takeshi facepalmed again. "Right. Nasuverse. You no pay attention," he muttered. "The Kaleidoscope. The Second True Magic. Allows you to travel between any universes where an alternate version of you exists, and draw power from those alternates."

"Uh, guys?" Jorn rose his hand.

"Yeah, I don't CARE." Ron snapped, ignoring Jorn. "MY only concern is dealing with the loose ends. Those three need to be dealt with. I don't care how."

Takeshi thought about that for a bit, and shrugged. "Why not just fuse them into their counterparts from the new timeline?" he said. "I mean, Ash doesn't have to be the only one who remembers. Though there might be some side effects."

"Like what?" Ron asked.

"Guys?" Jorn repeated, pointing out the window.

"Well, we had Celebi do it with Ash and his Pokemon so that it was done in-universe," Takeshi explained. "That's to avoid any snafus for just using Author ex Machina powers. If we intervene directly? Who knows what could happen? Best case scenario is they become like Deadpool."

"I HATE DEADPOOL." Ron all but screamed.

"I know. Don't like him that much either," Takeshi replied. "But that's the best case. They become like him, able to break the fourth wall at will."

"GUYS!" Jorn shouted.

"WHAT?!"

"_**I will deal with them**_." came a voice both male yet female, making the Authors look out the window of their boat, seeing Arceus hovering outside.

"…I thought you said the laws of the multiverse killed everything." Jorn said, looking at Ron.

"It's _Arceus_. You honestly think a _literal god _that _predated _the creation of the universe can't survive its' destruction?" Ron retorted. "The Big Bang is worse then what Cyrus made Palkia and Dialga do."

Takeshi and Jorn shared a look. "…He has a point." Takeshi said.

"It's Ron: when _doesn't _he?" Jorn deadpanned.

"Wait… if Arceus is God here…" Takeshi said, looking at Ron. "...Does that mean-"

"That is a question that should not be answered; Good luck, sir!" Ron said VERY quickly before getting them out of there.

Arceus sighed. "_**What am I going to do with you people**_?" the deity asked before dealing with the TRio.

* * *

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, they just won't die. And they are our Deadpools, given how we continually break the fourth wall with them.**

**Ron the True Fan: They do it in the series. We're only staying true to form. We don't like them, but sadly, offing them isn't much of an option. Not because we literally can't write them into the grave, that's certainly an option, but because they have a JOB to do.**

**117Jorn: Plus, they aren't **_**that **_**bad - even Jar Jar Binks can be a good character with a competent writer at the helm. The same can be said for Team Rocket. **

**Ron the True Fan: ...That is a concept that seemingly never happens.**

**117Jorn: Because Hollywood is inept and disconnected with fanbases. *points to TLJ, TRoS, STD and STP burning pyres***

**Ron the True Fan: Then there are the miracles. (Detective Pikachu and the 2020 Sonic movie are WELL protected)**

**117Jorn: Those succeed because the creators did something that is increasingly difficult to do in Hollywood nowadays.**

**Takeshi: What's that?**

**117Jorn: Listen to the goddamn fans for more than TWO SECONDS, and stop ANTAGONIZING THEM. As Lord Doomcock says: "Without Respect, We Reject"**

**Ron the True Fan: Explains Galar.**

**Ja Ne!**


	34. Chapter 33: Indigo Conference-2

**Ron the True Fan: Know what the best part of reliving everything is? Knowing your mistakes and correcting them. Ash has certainly done that. The only reason he hasn't outright lost any regulation fights is because he has a solid strategy and honed tactical sense. That and his Pokemon train so hard, they make Vegeta pale in comparison.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Heh. Their training could probably outdo SPARTANs.**

* * *

**Indigo Coliseum - 0614 hours local time - Day 109 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

There was no safe way to wake up a legendary. This was a known fact.

Lugias tended to cause mild tidal waves, Ho-Ohs set themselves on fire, not even the most sedate legendary, Mew, was safe to be around when it was waking up as it tended to toss rocks around with its' half-awake mind.

The legendary birds usually woke up by either forcing the creation of a storm system or in the case of Moltres…

"CAW!" crowed the fire crane as it woke with the sun, slamming an Overheat into the building. Metal structural supports glowed red hot and bended under the raw force of the attack, lighting fixtures bending under their own weight, drooping downwards.

When maintenance workers came in and saw what was happening, they promptly shit their pants before frantically trying to save the lights.

Moltres fully woke up and saw the humans frantically try to save the fixtures.

"Mo?" '…_Oops?_' said the Flame Pokemon.

* * *

At the same time, Ash was getting up, the new habit coming in handy to prepare for the day, getting a look at who he was going to be fighting.

Yesterday had only twelve matches, so there were going to be four elimination fights before the next bracket.

"Good morning, Ash." Ash turned to see Iris, wearing a very… revealing outfit, with loose red pants and her top just barely kept her modest. A VERY perverse part of his brain cackled before he hit it hard enough to knock it out.

"Uh… morning, Iris." he said, blushing at seeing her in what could be more or less called a belly dancer's outfit.

And Iris made it look VERY good. Her arms and legs were covered in tiny little scars and cuts, but that was just a sign she spent a lot of time outside, learning the basics of climbing, running and all that.

Was it a bad thing he also found it kinda attractive?

'_BAD!_' Ash mentally screamed. '_BAD ASH!_'.

Iris blinked a few times before noticing what he was looking at, then chuckled, pressing her two index fingers together. "Hehe. Sorry." she said, her cheeks doing a very cute flush-

'_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA_'

-before smiling gently. "It's just so… hot here in Kanto."

Ash beat the perverted half of his brain into submission for the umpteenth time before noticing what she said. "Hot?" he asked, "It's not that hot."

"I was born near Opelucid," Iris said. "It's never above freezing in Opelucid. I always wore thick wool sweaters and hats. I think you know the ones."

Ash took a minute to realize what she meant. "…You too?" he asked, wincing at the idea that Iris now had her past self to deal with.

She nodded. "Yeah. I've kinda been weirded out hearing about you after what happened in Unova," she trailed off, chuckling. "You hit me in the head with a Pokeball?"

"In my defense, I didn't see you," Ash said quickly. "Pulled out the Pokedex, got an entry on Axew… you can guess the rest."

"Yeah." Iris said, shaking her head. "Zekrom did a number on you."

"Zekrom, Cyrus, that son of a bitch Tobias…" Ash said, shrugging. "Take your pick or all of the above."

The dark-skinned girl laughed. "Yeah, gonna go with 'all'," she said, Axew jumping out of her hair, nomming on an apple. "The me in the past was stupid."

Ash bit back a comment on how him in Unova wasn't exactly his brightest moment.

"So…" she asked, leaning forward somewhat, unintentionally giving him a bit of a show. Ash pointedly did not look down. "Who are you fighting next?"

Ash welcomed the change of subject. "Jeannete Fisher." he said, looking at the paper that was delivered to his room before he woke up. "She's probably one of the harder ones I've fought in the last timeline."

"How?" Iris asked, looking at the paper and the photo of the other purple haired girl, not seeing how Jeanette was a threat to Ash, even back then.

"I am of the opinion her Bellsprout was selectively bred, specifically to judo flip Groudon." Ash stated, quite seriously.

"…Groudon weighs several _thousand _tons." Iris said, unbelieving. "The only thing that could flip him without psychic help is Kyogre."

"And it took out Pikachu." Ash replied, Iris staring at him now. Pikachu hadn't been defeated by anything short of Giovanni's Nidoking. And he BEAT Nidoking. "I know, I know, the timeline was weird. Better than this one, though."

"That's subjective." came the voice of Sabrina as she came in, wearing a pair of loose sweatpants and a VERY tight-looking tanktop. "Morning, dad."

Ash blinked. "Showing off for Kyoji?" He asked.

Sabrina smirked in response. "Maaaaybe. That and teasing him with some mental images."

Iris snorted. "He still hasn't realised that's you?"

"Nooope." The gym leader replied, popping the P. "It's so fun! He met one of the girls from New Island and hung out with her for a while and was _convinced _that I was going to castrate him if he so much as _thought _impurely about her."

Ash sighed. "This is part of the reason I didn't get together with anyone…" he muttered. "I think I'd be driven insane by any children I had."

"You're _already _a bit nuts." Sabrina deadpanned. "You are willingly going through your life a second time just to stop a psychotic madman from ending all life as we know it, or period."

Ash scoffed. "Yeah. That's only because Celebi slammed into some distortion and the timeline changed." he said before the only other male-occupied room's door opened, Kyoji groaning as he stumbled out, half-asleep as he made his way to one of the two bathrooms.

"…I'm going to wake up Pikachu." Ash decided as he walked back to his own room. "Try not to embarrass him into getting himself knocked out, please."

"I make no promises, dad." Sabrina said, smirking as Ash went back in.

"…so what's _your _plan?" Iris leaned back in her chair, looking at Sabrina.

"…well…" Sabrina mused, "Kyoji has a very… _active _imagination, and Arceus bless him that he's trying his best to keep his mind… _clean _when he's around me." She blushed slightly but she kept smiling. "Of course, it doesn't really matter… so I know what else goes through his mind, and I wouldn't mind… _encouraging _some of those ideas…"

"…like?" Iris asked, leaning forward a bit.

"Well for one, and he'd never admit this to mine or anyone else's faces," She said, giggling a bit. "He's jealous that Ash gets his own harem. And while he is _very _content with me…" she left it hanging there.

Iris blinked, before her eyes widened before blushing. "…you're building him a harem, aren't you?"

"Eh… potentially," She shrugged, smirking. "It's more a matter of… finding the right ladies… I've poked in his mind to get a good read on what he likes - apparently he has a 'thing' with girls that have… unique hairstyles and colors." She laughed a bit "Everytime he sees Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny, he tries _desperately _to put his mind into lockdown mode."

"Huh…" Iris mused, "Ya know, Ash keeps talking about that Brock guy… Kyoji is starting to sound more like him, only not as… _overt_ when it comes to women…"

"To an extent," Sabrina acknowledged, "Like I said - he'll never admit it to me or anyone publicly - but he certainly _thinks _it when he thinks I'm not around."

"…aren't there ways to block off psionic readings?" Iris asked, "Like… mind shields or something?"

"Oh they exist, but they're expensive," Sabrina nodded, "But even if he could afford it, Kyoji doesn't want to get one - he thinks if he did, he thinks I'd take it as a gesture that he didn't trust me, which he thinks would ruin our relationship."

"…would it?"

"Not really," Sabrina shrugged, "People are entitled to their privacy - the only thing I'd be disappointed in is that I couldn't… fuck around with him anymore without him knowing."

"…and you haven't told him this yet because…?" Iris questioned.

"Well, I hinted at it before," Sabrina said, "But the reading I got from him is that he interpreted it as that old trope: If a woman says 'it's okay' it means 'it's not okay'."

"Oh no, he's learning the secret language of women," Iris giggled. "Ya know… if you need help with that… I think we can help."

"We?" Sabrina questioned.

Iris sighed "I mean… he hasn't been around long…" She said, "Heck, he's been with Ash longer than me, but… he's been going out of his way to help all the girls get with Ash, prevent… _infighting _between us, and more importantly he's been trying to help Ash accept us… and he did it not really expecting a reward outside of learning to talk Poke-speech."

"…so you all want to help Kyoji just like he helped you?" Sabrina asked, a smirk slowly forming.

"I mean… it's the least we can do," Iris shrugged. "He's done so much for us - not just relationship-wise, but helping with our pokemon, cooking, cleaning… why not give a little back to him?"

"Well then…" Sabrina smirked somewhat evilly. "Where shall we start?"

Somewhere in the colosseum, Kyoji felt a cold shiver run down his spine. '…_Sabrina, if that's you - I am sorry for my perverted thoughts._' he thought to himself. '_Please don't dump me…_'

A stray image of Sabrina and Neesha in swimsuits crossed his mind, as he physically slapped himself. '_BE GONE!_'

* * *

**Main arena - 0957 hours local time**

* * *

Ash looked up to see the damn Moltres STILL perched on the northern end of the building. Naturally, he was… concerned.

After all, legendaries didn't show up for no reason. And usually, he had to resolve that reason.

At any rate, he had a pretty good idea of how to deal with Jeanette. If she was true to form and had that unholy Bellsprout, this time he wouldn't bother playing fair.

…Ok, he wouldn't be pulling out Charizard. THAT was unfair to _any _grass-type. And just plain cruel.

That and Blast Burn. He remembered what that did to Sceptile. With that, he walked up the stairs to the platform, where, at the opposite side of the field, was Jeanette Fisher, kimono and all.

At least she made it work, unlike Mandi and his Arceus-forsaken skirt.

"OI! IT'S A KILT!" Ash looked up at the stands after hearing that, seeing… Mandi. "STOP INSULTIN' ME HERITAGE, YA-"

Moltres looked at the trainer before taking off, grabbing him with his beak and flying away, Mandi screaming the entire time.

"…Thanks?" Ash said, confused as he walked up to the raised platform, the arena shutters opening to reveal the grass field, repaired after Ash's match yesterday.

"You are my opponent?" asked the seeming noblewoman before she bowed at the waist in respect. "I am honored to be facing the Crown Prince of Rota."

Ash groaned. He was REALLY sick of that title. "Please don't call me that." he asked, trying to hide his annoyance. "I'm a Pokemon Trainer. Nothing more. Nothing less."

Jeanette stood straight, glaring at him. "You are of a higher station. That is a fact." she said, frowning at him. "False modesty will do you no good, seeing as you defeated Giovanni when no other trainer fighting here has."

Ash blinked, as that was news to him. "Really?" he asked, confused.

"He is the top gym leader. He did not remain there by reputation." Jeanette said, retrieving a Pokeball from her sleeve. "That will warrant using my strongest Pokemon from the start!" She then tossed it out, unleashing a small, thin grass-type with roots for feet, leaves for arms and the head was like a pitcher plant.

"Bellsprout." '_Ready for combat_.' said the Bellsprout, waving his arms.

Ash had prepared Muk as a backup, but this time...the best way to deal with grass was by burning it, as he picked out another ball. "I choose you, Tepig!" he called, sending out the little peg-like Pokemon, who materialized above the floor, landing on his hooves.

"Pig!" '_Let's do this!_' Tepig cried, snorting smoke out of his snout.

"This is a new one!" the announcer said, surprised at Ash's pick. "Ash Ketchum has switched from working against the type chart to working with it!"

Jeanette tilted her head as she looked at Tepig. "A fire-type? It does not look it." she said, perplexed.

"Tepig's from Unova." Ash answered, Jeanette nodding at his statement.

"A rare Pokemon from another region." she said in approval. "You are finally showing your standing above others."

Ash felt nothing but disgust when she said that. He was not 'above' anyone. As far as he was concerned, all were equal.

"I'm not above. I'm just a trainer from Pallet Town!" he declared, a few people in the crowd either cheering or booing his declaration of being just a humble country boy.

"You need to be reminded of your place." she retorted before looking at Bellsprout. "Poison Powder!"

"Ember, Smokescreen and Defense Curl!" Ash commanded quickly. Tepig fired at Bellsprout as he coughed out the toxic powder from his mouth, the fire consuming the powder before Tepig's snout spat black choking smoke out of his nose.

"Acid! Cover the field! Lure that pig out to the slaughter!" Jeanette commanded, going into a mild haughty cackle. That only made Ash mad.

It reminded him far too much of Jessie in Unova. And when he thought of Unova, he remembered his piss-poor performance there.

And that made him MORE mad.

Bellspout spat out corrosive liquid, splattering on the grass, actually causing small fires in some places.

"Pig!" '_Go ahead! Keep firing_!' Tepig mocked. "Tepig!" '_You'll never find-_-"

"Wrap!" the grass-type's trainer ordered, pointing in a general area inside the smokescreen. "He's there!"

"Sprout." '_Anything for you, mistress_.' said the weed before rushing at Tepig, his little root legs carrying him towards Tepig at a remarkable speed.

Tepig was worried for a moment… but remembered something about himself. He smirked. '_Oh right… Flame Charge._' He actually stopped in his tracks as Bellsprout started to wrap around Tepig…

"…SPROUT!SPROUT!SPROUT!SPROUT!" '_HOT!HOT!HOT!HOT!HOT!_' Bellsprout cried out as it caught fire.

"Jeanette's made a massive mistake!" the announcer cried out ("Don't insult me!" she snapped, but was ignored) as Tepig shot around, cackling as the grass-type burned. "Tepig is one of the few fire-types that can learn Flame Charge before evolving! And once that pig catches fire, who knows when it'll stop?!"

"Pig!" '_NEVAR!_' cried the flaming pig as he and Bellsprout shot around the field, setting EVERYTHING on fire. "Tepig!" '_BURN! BURN! RAGE OF THE HEAVENS! HAHAHAHAHAHA!_!'

Ash just stared in disbelief and horror. "…I missed it when you were cuddly," he said at last. "You spend too much time with Charizard."

"Fire teams, put out those fires!" yelled the ref as a team of Squirtles (some of whom waved at Ash, one putting on a pair of round sunglasses, meaning he was a member of the Squirtle Squad) jumped onto the edge of the arena, using Water Gun to put out the raging inferno.

Smoke rose from the field. Jeanette had to release a Leafeon of all things to keep the air clear. Ash's Natu (who was with Sabrina) teleporting onto his head for the same reason.

A Pidgeotto wearing a purple sash was released by the ref, who then used Defog to create a massive gust of wind, clearing the field of black byproduct of fire.

The weed was laying in a pool of water, both leaves missing and the entire body burned and cracked. Jeanette almost screamed in horror before they heard coughing from the battlefield, a head poking out of the smoke as it cleared. But it wasn't Tepig. Not exactly.

"Ash Ketchum's Tepig just evolved!" the announcer said, stating the obvious. "For those of you unaware, Tepig evolves into a fire/fighting-type-"

"PIGNITE!" '_ABOUT DAMN TIME_!' cried the Fire Pig Pokemon, stumbling somewhat as he gasped for breath.

"Well, he said it best!" the announcer said sheepishly. "I don't know where he got the pig, but that'll do!"

"Nite!" '_Bring it! I want more! MORE! AHAHAHAHAHAHA_!' Pignite laughed, the power rushing to his head.

Ash just returned him: he would talk to him to resolve the power trip later.

"I will have to be more wary then I should have been. You prefer to trip up your opponents." Jeanette surmised. "Mandi, you defeated with type-disadvantage. Here, you use the match-ups to your advantage."

"I just wanted that Bellsprout out of the way," Ash said, chuckling. "I've heard rumors about that thing!"

Actually he fought it last time and had to use Muk, but she didn't need to know that.

"Indeed? Very well." the girl said before withdrawing another Pokeball, returning Bellsprout to his ball as the field changed over to a fresh one, this time being the water field, with six platforms instead of two. "This will be a mild annoyance, but I will make due. Go, Sawsbuck!" she tossed the ball out, opening to release what was easily described as a deer with flowers on the antlers.

…Unova didn't seem to have much in regards to imagination, did it? (WHACK!)

* * *

**Cabin just outside Olivine City - 1215 Hours Local Time**

* * *

The simple seaside life suited the former boss of Team Rocket. Patel was too close for his liking, but honestly, the disguise expert was NUTS and couldn't think of a good plan to save his life.

Persian lounged as the radio played back the results of the Pokemon League battle between his nephew and the granddaughter of some retired warlord that sided with Oak during the Kanto Reunification War. And Giovanni was safe in the knowledge that he was where Ash _wasn't_.

"Hey, dad," said a voice, making Giovanni open his eyes and see his 12 year old son Silver, looking the spitting image of his mother, if with some hints of his nose.

"Silver. Is there anything I can do for you?" Giovanni asked his son as kindly (for Giovanni) as possible as he leaned forward to sit up in his old, if comfy, recliner.

He wasn't an abusive father, knowing how his own mother, Silver's grandmother, treated him and Delia. No wonder Delia rebelled. But he was… distant. He tried to connect with Silver so often, but he just… couldn't. Fortunately, Silver was an understanding young man, seeing that while his father was skilled in battle, he was no social butterfly.

"Just wondering… did you ever fight that Ash guy on the radio?" Silver asked.

Giovanni smiled slightly. "Oh yeah, I did…" he nodded, "Burned down my whole Gym in the process… I don't really blame him though."

"…really?" Silver tilted his head in confusion. "Why?"

"He has some… anger issues," He said, "…mostly him thinking I was his father - which I wasn't… but he _is _my nephew though."

Silver blinked at that, before his head darted towards the radio as his eyes widened. "…Ash Ketchum is my _Cousin_?!" He exclaimed. "He… He beat _you _on his first try?!"

"Yes." Giovanni admitted, remembering the falling ball of doom that was Rhyperior. "He used his Charizard to drop Rhyperior onto my gym."

Silver stared before his eyes widened. "That… is awesome." he said. "You were the best Gym Leader in Kanto and Johto! And he beat your best team!"

"My best _gym _team," Giovanni corrected. "My personal one would have torn his apart." He was pretty sure Ash would actually beat his original party. It would end poorly for his Pokemon, but they grew at a rate that terrified him.

They might actually be stronger then his sister's team one day. "At least your cousins aren't going to bother us." Giovanni said, laying back down.

"Cousins, as in plural?!" Silver demanded.

'_I should have kept my mouth shut._' the old man thought, wincing.

* * *

**Indigo Plateau - roughly 20 minutes later**

* * *

Ash sighed as he went back into the little dugout, escaping the yelling Jeanette.

Seriously, using Muk to knock out Scyther WAS kinda embarrassing, but did it really need to involve death threats? At least it wasn't as bad as what happened to Sawsbuck. Butterfree was not in the mood for games, just slamming the poor buck into the water and into the sides of the arena. Apparently, they had seen worse: all he got was a mild warning.

Muk just smothered the poor mantis on the rock field. THAT made Jeanette rage.

"Some people just can't take defeat gracefully." Ash looked up to see a white-haired woman in a white sundress leaning on one of the walls, holding a sunhat in her hands. How had she even gotten here?

"Uh… hi." Ash said, somewhat confused. "Are you… here for the league?"

The woman looked at him. Pikachu sparked in warning for her to back off. "Your Pikachu is protective." she said, smiling sadly. "That's always a nice thing."

"Uh… yeah…" Ash nodded warily, looking at her. "We've… been through a lot… I'm sorry, do I know you?"

She simply chuckled softly "Hm… we may have met before," she mused, shrugging. "Or… we haven't…" She just shrugged as she stood back up. "Take care, Ash Ketchum… and keep your eye on the skies."

With that, the girl walked off, humming a familiar tune. Where had he heard it before…

It was so...familiar…

"Ash!" he snapped out of it, seeing an old friend waving at him as he turned to the source of the voice, smirking cockily behind him.

"Guess you got here, too." said Gary Oak, cocky smirk on his face. "Heard you tore Giovanni's gym apart before you got here."

Ash glanced over his shoulder, only for the girl to be gone. "Yeah...Charizard enjoyed it…" Ash trailed off.

"Well, hopefully I get to kick your ass tomorrow." Gary said, extending his hand as he walked over. "I know I was a bit of a jerk-"

"A bit?" Ash deadpanned, extending his own anyways. Gary chuckled.

"Yeah, you got a point. After that Sinnohan jackass kicked my ass...well, humility goes a long way." the youngest Oak said as he clasped Ash's hand and shook it. "So...Crown Prince of Rota, huh?"

"PLEASE don't." Ash pleaded. "I don't like the title, I don't WANT the title."

"Relax. You were always humble." Gary said. "Your Pokemon are super-powerful, though. Even that Muk. Try not to let the power go to your head!"

Ash grinned. "That's my line to you. May the best trainer win." he said, smiling. Gary laughed in response.

"Yeah, I'll probably lose. I saw your win/loss rate." Gary said in resignation. "You've never lost a match."

Not true. He's lost plenty. They just occurred in another timeline. But he suffered that and learned his lesson.

"That's only because I trust my team." Ash replied before letting go of Gary's hand. "I trust them with my life."

"Ain't that the truth." Gary retorted. "See you tomorrow. Gotta win my match before I fight you and all that!"

Ash nodded. It was actually good to see him again as Gary walked off.

"Wait… Sinnohan?" he asked himself.

* * *

**Guest rooms - 1423 hours local time**

* * *

Kyoji looked up from his cup of soup, giving Ash a look. "You trying to build your harem without me?" he asked, faux-betrayed.

"It's not like that!" Ash said as he sat down. Pikachu cackled at his expense. "I was just asking if you saw someone like her before. All...creepy. White hair, white dress...that sort of thing."

He blinked for a moment "Actually… yeah I did," He nodded, as Ash gestured him to go on. "It was back at Cinnabar… back when I made my big promise to Arceus… I saw this weird woman just standing there, smiling, and I got this… weird feeling like I got an answer… if I were a gambling man - and I'm not - I think she's a Priestess of Arceus."

"Priestess of Arceus?" Ash questioned.

"It's not surprising," Kyoji shrugged. "All of the big Legendaries have their own sects, priesthoods or cults that follow them… the most well known examples of course being Team Magma for Groudon, and Team Aqua for Kyogre. Though the big four - Arceus, Palkia, Dialga and Ghiratina are the ones that have the biggest following for… you know, being the gods of time, space, death and creation. Back at Ransei worship is a bit more common than here I guess - there are entire temples dedicated to each of the Legendaries, the biggest of course being the Temple of Arceus in Aurora Province."

"Huh. Back...home…" Ash said, trying to find a comfortable way to avoid saying 'timeline'. "Legendaries didn't have this god-like thing going on. They were just superpowered Pokemon."

"...Ash, your old timeline was VERY fucked up." Kyoji deadpanned before he noticed Froakie, who had demanded to fight at the conference, on the ceiling.

"Froak." '_I believe I have seen this woman as well_.' he said. "Froakie." '_In Oblivia. She told me to go back to the ship. Just in time, as well: a Shadow Pokemon swarm was about to attack_.'

"...Oblivia's on the other side of the world." Kyoji said. "I saw her on a ship coming from _Unova_. It would have taken her MONTHS just to get here, yet you're saying she was there?"

"Froakie." '_I can see into my liege-lord's mind. The image matches my memory of her._' Froakie stated, nodding.

"Damn…" Kyoji muttered. "I mean… its possible she could have a teleporting Pokemon like Natu, but… the longer the distance, the more stress it takes to pull that off… so she either has a very powerful Psychic-type with her… or she herself is just as powerful as Sabrina… if not even stronger." He winced a bit. "And _that _is a scary thought in itself…" Kyoji then blinked. "Wait...is Froakie a psychic-type?"

"Water/Dark. Why?" Ash asked.

"How can he see what was…" the shinobi sighed before realizing it. "Let me guess: something else you can do."

"Pika." '_They call it the Bond Phenomenon. And it is WEIRD_.' Pikachu said. "Pikapi." '_Basically, Ash and Froakie, when he evolved to Greninja, were bonded, allowing Greninja to transform into something we called 'Ash-Greninja'. He turned out to be Ash's second-most powerful Pokemon in Kalos_.'

"...Your timeline. Was. VERY fucked up." Kyoji deadpanned. "That's NORMAL?"

"I think we've established I am _not _normal." As said drily. "People don't normally save the world as often as I did and get sent back in time to do it all over again in an altered timeline."

Kyoji could not argue with that.

* * *

**Indigo Coliseum - 0914 hours local time - Day 110**

* * *

Moltres watched as Arceus' personal Chosen handed the grandchild of Celebi's favorite his proverbial rear end. Even for Arceus' chosen warrior, the boy showed more experience then any one it had seen at this age.

It was odd. He behaved like a veteran warrior, not a novice. But if it served the Creator's purposes, Moltres wasn't going to complain.

"Oi! Ya fookin bird!" cried what was quickly becoming the bane of Moltres' life. The annoying human refused to leave things be. "Stop flamin' my pants!"

The fire crane huffed. In response, he stood up and stretched his wings wide, glaring down at Mandi, it's eyes glinting dangerously.

Mandi's eyes went wide. "Oh feck."

Moltres screeched, letting loose a basic Flamethrower that scorched the Galarisan's pantlegs and sent him running for cover.

Moltres was going to miss the results of the match, but honestly, he was having fun. Nothing like tormenting idiots to get your kicks.

* * *

"Gary's putting up a fight." Iris noted, even as Gary's Eevee was knocked out of the fight by Fletchhinder, who evolved while taking on Gary's Dodrio.

"You call this a fight?" Kyoji asked, gesturing to the fact that Gary had only knocked out one of Ash's Pokemon...and that was Snivy, going up against Gary's Arcanine, which was then knocked out by Roggenrolla. "I call this an unqualified one-sided asskicking."

Misty scoffed. "Compared to Mandi and Jeanette?" she said, remembering that Ash won that one three/nothing. "Gary is putting up more of a challenge. Then again, when I met him in the other timeline, he was a Pokemon Researcher."

Kyoji blinked. "Really. Did Gary ever beat Ash?"

She nodded. "A few. Was still arrogant as hell back then." Misty said before she snorted. "Then Ash kicked his ass in Johto. Forced him to take a look at herself and knocked his arrogance down a few… hundred pegs. Followed in his grandfather's footsteps. Still a pretty good trainer afterwards. I think I saw him pass through Cerulean a few times."

"Well…" Serena said., everyone branching for which Serena would be doing the talking. "Ash is a vet. Gary's new. Of course he's losing."

A winning streak that was half-broken by Brock, Sabrina and Giovanni. But gym leaders were the best. These people? Kyoji would rate them as third, maybe fourth-year at best. Ash was slowly working his way up to eight. Twice the experience, or more, with battle-hardened Pokemon constantly training to deal with the world's threats. It would be like siccing the elite 1st Ranseian Naval Squadron on a _fishing boat_.

A very short, very lopsided affair that never ends well for the fishing boat.

"Well, looking forward to his humbling then," Kyoji nodded, "...at the very least, he's not nearly as bad as Paul right?"

"Oh by a _landslide_," Serena rolled her eyes nodding.

The crowd watched as Gary released Blastoise, attempting to fight Ash's Charizard. Of course, Ash pretty much gave him the word and the Flame Pokemon LOVED using Seismic Toss.

The repair costs were going to be _staggering_.

* * *

In the skybox, Cynthia Shironia winced as Charizard dropped Blastoise onto the arena floor. "...He knows we have to fix that, right?" she asked Lance.

"We'll send the bill to Rota." the Kanto/Johto champion said, even as he, too, winced at the damage Charizard caused.

The blonde 37-year old sighed as the crowd went crazy at Charizard's stunt. "Bread and circus." she muttered.

"Better than mobs, riots and civil war. You would know better than any of us, Cynthia." said Bruno. "You were orphaned during the unification wars in Johto."

Cynthia glared at him for reminding her that, yes, she was the champion of a region that was not her own. Everyone LOVED reminding her of that. It took sending out her starter to make them shut up.

She still felt bad for Garchomp after her first evolution.

"In a few years, he might be fighting us for our places as top trainers." Cynthia said to Lance, pointedly giving Bruno the cold shoulder.

"Leon." Lorelei stated, both of them glaring at her for that.

"That Kalosian jackass beat Lance. Just because I'm Lance's equal doesn't mean he could beat me." Cynthia snapped as Ash's Pikachu took to the field after changing out, facing a Rattacate. "He hasn't evolved his starter?"

"Lady, he took down my Raichu. If a Pikachu can take down a Raichu that was properly trained AND waited to evolve, he doesn't need to evolve." Surge said, his creepy-as-hell red Magneton hovering over him. "Give him a couple Leagues: I see him kicking your ass AND Lance's at the same time."

Cynthia conceded the point. "As long as he stays away from my daughter." she said. "A playboy like him is someone I want nowhere near Verity."

"It may surprise you that he took an oath of celibacy." Agatha finally said, grinning as they all gave her the most perplexed look they had.

Cynthia was just stunned into silence, missing Ash's Riolu using an Aura Sphere of all things on a Seadra.

* * *

**Pallet Town - 1105 hours local time**

* * *

"_Another victory for crowd-favorite Ash Ketchum_!" The radio blared. Belladonna chuckled at the image in her mind's eye of Gary getting his ass handed to him as she watched Buizel and Oshawott train using Water gun, both having teamed up for a single reason. Usually, the two didn't interact.

Her musing was cut off by something fuzzy landing in her hair, today tied in a side-tail. "Noi?" said the bat.

"Well, you're no Zubat, but you're still adorable." she said, picking the little bat out of her hair and holding him, tilting her head in curiosity. "I've never seen a bat like you."

"Noi!" cried the bat as he flapped his wings and took off.

"Noibat. He's a Kalosian Dragon/Flying-type." Belladonna nearly jumped out of her chair when she heard her sister's voice. Yellow was wearing her usual outfit, only her hair was undone and her hat was missing. "Did I scare you?"

Belladonna chuckled nervously. "Kinda?" she replied, rubbing the back of her head. "Just lost in thought."

"I wanted to see Ash's Ivysaur. He always makes me laugh when he makes the other Pokemon run from him." Yellow said, smiling before sighing. "No Ivysaur, so I gotta see my big sister."

"Don't be so disappointed." Belladonna said before Yellow tackle-glomped her, nearly knocking them to the floor. "Hey!"

"You're never home. I miss you." she muttered into her bust, making the older sister flush with embarrassment.

"Uh… It's because-" Belladonna started before Yellow looked up, glaring at her. "...I don't want to remind Ash about dad?"

"Ash knows about dad." Yellow retorted. "Stop running away."

Why did Yellow have to be so insistent? "I'm not-"

"You don't even spend time with us unless we're at the lab." Yellow cut off before ending her hug and dropping to the floor, grabbing Belladonna's hand. "I'm taking you home."

"No, you-Crobat, help!" Belladonna cried, asking for her starter's help… only for the bat to start pushing her towards the front door. "TRAITOR!"

Yellow smiled. Crobat got it.

* * *

**Indigo Coliseum - 1109 hours local time**

* * *

At least Gary took his defeat more gracefully than Jeanette. It was good enough for him.

"Hey!" called a voice Ash hadn't heard in a very long time. Not since the Whirl Islands. And what was with people ambushing him down here? First the creepy lady, now Ritchie?

Still, the Pallet Town trainer turned to his left to look at the young man that looked a LOT like him, with his mother's hair no less. If Ash didn't know his father was faithful to his mom and she was faithful to him, he would almost think Ritchie was his brother or something.

"Uh… Hi." Ash said, even as he took in the sight of his last Kanto League opponent in the last timeline.

"It's nice to meet you." Ritchie greeted. "I'm Ritchie. I've actually been following your rise for a bit now."

Oh Arceus, he did not want Ritchie as a stalker. "Really?" he asked, somewhat nervously.

"The first trainer to beat Surge without going into a rematch, the only trainer that's beaten Sabrina period after she became a gym leader, you beat Giovanni...Then there's you running into Team Rocket!" Ritchie said, almost in awe. "You made them leave my hometown alone! There's never been a day there without a Rocket sighting and now they're gone! You saved the _Olympic_, too! You're a hero!"

Hero. Ash thought back to his little war with Team Rocket in this timeline. A Cleffa was orphaned, going to the Ranch because there was nowhere else to go; she hid away so well that he hadn't seen the poor thing in months. The _Olympic_, he killed a man by accident and nearly drowned when he repaired the holes in the hull. Team Aqua actually drove them off; they just left for some reason after that.

He was no hero, he was a walking disaster zone. Ash was very surprised an Absol didn't precede him wherever he went, this timeline or the last.

"I don't know about being a hero." Ash looked off to the side to hide the look in his eyes. "I'm just trying to get better."

"You ARE a hero!" Ritchie insisted. "So many people would have died if you weren't on the _Olympic_! I just hope I get to face you tomorrow. I think I have a solid plan to beat you." the young man just grinned. "But hey, if I lose, it's just another learning experience."

Ash smiled sadly. He actually learned that from Ritchie in the old timeline and the results here...no losses. Victory was shallow if you didn't put effort into it and the League just...felt shallow here. Maybe it was because everyone else just wasn't as experienced as the gym leaders? Yeah, that would do WONDERS to balloon his ego, thinking he was on the same level as a gym leader.

"Well, I hope I'm a good teacher." he finally said, smiling thinly, trying to prevent himself from turning into the next pre-reset Gary. Or worse.

Ritchie didn't notice. "Great! Wish me luck!" he said, even as he ran past Ash to the battlefield. Apparently, he was next up.

Honestly, Ash had been thinking so hard, he hadn't been paying attention to the other matches. That weird girl, dealing with the knowledge that, in this timeline, at least, his father died saving him, trying to focus on Cyrus, and… his girl problems. No wonder he took an oath of celibacy last time.

Maybe food would help: it was lunch and he volunteered to make lunch for everyone when he was done. At least he knew how to make pancakes. Took four years and his brief stopover in Pallet before going to Unova, but it was time to practice.

* * *

**Commissary - Indigo Coliseum - 1234 hours local time**

* * *

Kyoji admitted, Ash was no master chef, but he could handle the basics. Ash himself admitted that was because, even after learning how, Brock basically never let him try. This was followed by Cilan and Serena in Unova and Kalos respectively taking over cooking duties. Ash never voiced his frustrations out of respect and the fact they were actually good cooks, but was...somewhat bitter about the whole thing.

Fortunately, the staff were kind enough to allow him to use their equipment.

"So, your friend Ritchie…" Serena asked as Ash flipped a pancake, barely avoiding turning it into a mess. "How'd you meet him last time?"

"At the league. It was actually my first League loss." Ash said, Pikachu stealing a bottle of ketchum, making what everyone thought was cackling as he did. "Team Rocket stole Pikachu-"

"Seriously?" Kyoji quipped. "They're obsessed!" His Gible then stole his pancakes along with the plate, Kyoji only noticing when he went to stab at them, hitting wood instead of pancake. "Hey!"

"Gible!" '_Mine_!' cried the land shark as he ate both the ceramic plate and the pancakes. "Buuuuuuuuuuuuuurp. Gible!" '_Yum_!'

"Anyway…" Ash said as he put another pancake onto a plate for Janine, who remained silent out of respect - and the fact her opinion was not needed, nor was she curious - before pouring out another one, making a spare stack for Kyoji, who was trying to chase down his Pokemon. "All of my Pokemon were exhausted when we finally got back. He was nice enough to wait, even with the refs saying I should've been disqualified. But all I had left was Charizard."

"And he didn't even listen. Just lounged," Misty added. "Took him getting frozen in the Orange Islands to get out of that rut."

"Huh… hard to believe given how loyal he is now," Kyoji shrugged, looking at his Gible who just rolled around contently after eating. "…you're lucky your cute…"

"Gib." '_Hehe…_' Gible giggled, before he began to snore as he fell asleep.

"So, nothing's gonna go wrong?" Anabel asked. Everyone looked at her in mild terror. "What?"

"Anabel, back home, whenever I asked that question, my grandpa always said that everything goes wrong," Iris explained. "Grampa always told me NEVER to say that, because when all seems good, _then _it all goes downhill."

"Tell me about it," Ash muttered as he finished Kyoji's new stack and handed it to Misty, who then passed it to Anabel, then to the shinobi in question. "Every region that I go to starts peacefully, no sign of an evil team, I relax, get comfortable, thinking no one except Team Rocket's gonna be there. Suddenly in Hoenn, I get hit with TWO at once, then Sinnoh, and we all know what happened in Sinnoh… This time around, I'm playing it safe and assuming there's always some big problem around the corner."

Kyoji chuckled as he finally dug into his pancakes. "You're sounding a bit paranoid," he said, amused.

Ash sighed. "It's not paranoia. It's just that I've noticed a cycle," he said, finally making his own stack. "And this time, I'm going to be ready for whatever happens in Johto and whatever crazy nonsense happens at Shamouti this time around."

"What if there's no crazy man?" Serena asked, putting her fork down to look at her betrothed. "What if he doesn't exist this time around?" A valid point from the girl with the fractured mind.

"Then I'll be very happy and very surprised." Ash said happily before his expression soured somewhat. "Until proven otherwise, I'll just assume everything's going to be worse than last time."

"That's an awfully negative way to view things," Kyoji mumbled, eating his pancakes.

"Sabrina was worse, I got a bunch of Clefairy and Clefable killed at Mount Moon and Team Plasma was here." Ash retorted. "Usually, I prefer thinking positively, but there's a difference between that and deluding yourself. I had to learn that in Unova. Didn't have to practice it until now."

"When you put it that way…" the Ranseian said dourly.

"I'm just hoping for the best. I just have to get ready for the worst." The Pallet Town trainer finished. He had to be ready.

* * *

**The next day - 0953 hours local time**

* * *

Ash was… understandably antsy. Last time, Team Rocket cost him any chance of getting to the finals. Granted, they were being nice this time around and going 'nope', but you didn't just train out a near decade of watching your back for the TRio.

Still, no signs of booby traps (a very dumb part of his mind chuckled at that and was given the mental equivalent of a bomb to shut it up) no obvious nets…

All in all, Ash was starting to think he was overreacting and wanted to relax and enjoy a good clean fight against a friend.

That being said, Moltres was STILL roosting on the northern edge of the stadium. And where there were legendaries, there was trouble.

"You're overreacting." Kyoji said, hands propping up his head as he seemingly didn't care about what happened today. "Team Rocket's gone and those three are busy selling candy. Nothing's going to happen."

"What do you want to bet if something DOES happen?" Ash asked.

"...the issue with that, is that I can't think of something to gamble with," Kyoji shrugged.

"Yeah. Thought as much." Ash said, smiling mirthlessly. "Wish me luck."

"Luck? You're basically a gym leader-level trainer." Kyoji said, chuckling. "I should be wishing your friend luck: he's going to get destroyed!"

Ash glared at him for that comment.

"Ok, forgot you're trying not to be a dick to your opponents. Sorry." he apologized. "Just...you're a veteran trainer, time travel and all. He just started."

"Doesn't mean I _want _or even like stomping him into the ground." Ash answered. "I like having a nice clean fight."

"Then how come you didn't bring Rowlet or something?" the shinobi asked as they reached the exit for the dugout. "Your weaker...ok, that was rude; less experienced Pokemon?"

"Because I can't shake the feeling SOMETHING is going to go wrong." Ash looked at the exit, shaking his head. "I just hope I'm wrong."

"…well, why don't you carry the Pokemon you're battling with, while also carrying your reserve Pokemon in a separate pouch?" Kyoji shrugged, "You got the fancy gear that lets you bring out Pokemon on-demand, you can have as many Pokemon on-hand as you want, so long as the only pokemon you bring out are the ones you register for the match, right?"

"I left the Pokedex with Serena." Ash admitted. Kyoji just gave him a look. "I didn't want to get everyone from the ranch just because I'm paranoid!"

"…Counterproductive, but I suppose you have a point there." Kyoji admitted as a siren went off. "You better get out there."

Ash nodded before running to the raised dais once again, to the crowd's approval as they cheered him.

"And there he is, folks! The undefeated rookie Ash Ketchum!" the announcer said, Ash groaning as he wanted to avoid this kind of attention. If only they knew. "He's proving to be unpredictable in battle! What's he gonna do this time, folks?!"

Ash looked at the other side, seeing Ritchie exit the other tunnel, waving at the crowd. "And the other crowd favorite, Ritchie Hiroshi from Frodomar City! Always prepared, always cautious, what is his plan to deal with this seemingly gym leader in disguise?!"

"Let's find out, huh?" Ritchie said in response, the mic picking up his voice and getting a chuckle from parts of the crowd before he looked at Ash, getting serious. "Guess we'll find out if I can take on the Hero of Kanto, huh?"

"PLEASE don't call me that," Ash pleaded. "I have screwed up in more important ways than you think." He then plucked out a Pokeball.

"Well, you saved my home, so I'm not taking it back!" Ritchie said before pulling out a Pokeball. "Let's go, Happy!" he tossed it, revealing a Butterfree, Ash smiling at the sight. But the ball he pulled out didn't contain Butterfree. The only Pokemon he knew that Ritchie had that he also had were Charizard and Pikachu, the latter because… well, never leave your starter and the former… guilt and regret on Charizard's part to demand to stay.

But he couldn't pick a new ball now that he'd withdrawn it. "I choose you, Gible!" he called as he tossed the ball.

Out came the stubby, adorable land shark, landing on his feet before opening his maw. "Gible!" '_Hi, everyone!_' cried the land shark.

"Aw, he's adorable!" said someone in the crowd, even as Gible started swaying side to side, waving his arms as a dance.

"A Gible?" Ritchie questioned, Happy looking back at him. "Well, that's not gonna be fun."

"Free?" '_Fun? THAT'S what you call this?_' Happy demanded. "Butterfree!" '_That's a dragon-type! He's gonna chew me up!_'

Gible began shaking off his evolite clip, unclasping it by shaking it loose, making it fly off his fin. "Gible!" '_Here we go!_' cried the land shark as he started glowing.

"What… What's happening?!" the announcer asked the crowd. "Gible is… evolving after removing that clip on his fin!"

Gible's growth ceased only after growing as big as a Gible could get, turning into the Mach Pokemon, Garchomp. "Chomp!" '_Let's go!_' he cried. Happy looked at the land shark in sheer terror.

"Is… is this possible?" Ritchie asked openly, more confused than outraged. "That really doesn't seem to be possible."

The ref looked at the announcer before being passed a paper by an assisting Aipom. Reading it before simply nodding and picking up his own mic. "I have been informed by a letter from Professor Oak that Evolite allows Pokemon to revert to their pre-evolved stages." the referee said. "While… unorthodox, it is my judgement that this will not disqualify Ash Ketchum from this battle."

* * *

"GET ME THAT DAMN CLIP!" Cynthia shouted as Bruno, Steven and Lance had to restrain her from releasing her starter and breaking the windows so she could get the damn thing. "I WANT IT FOR GARCHOMP!"

"Evolite isn't that easy to get your hands on-" Steven said gently before Cynthia screamed again.

"I WANT MY LAND SHARK BACK!" she said as the door opened, revealing the League's official head psychologist, Gaffery.

"What the hell is going on in here?" the old man asked. Blaine gave him a respectful nod as he passed. After all, they the oldest men in the room.

"Ash Ketchum-" Lance started, only to collapse in pain as Cynthia shoved her fist into his groin. She wasn't in the mood.

"I WANT THAT CLIP!" she said before she suddenly felt something on her head.

"Natu." said the round parrot as it made a nest in her hair.

"…I should've known you would all throw a fit over something he did yet again." the old man said, finding a place to sit down, releasing his little Gible once he did so it could jump onto his lap and watch the show, as it were. "What did he do now?"

"Clip! Gible! Garchomp!" Cynthia growled out.

"You're a human being, not a Pokemon. Speak clearly." the old man said, Gible smiling at her before the Johto-born Sinnoh Champion screamed.

* * *

"Well, never say I'm not going to give it my all." Ritchie said. "Happy, use Confusion!"

"Dig!" Ash commanded, Garchomp diving into the ground to avoid the psionic waves… only for his massive fin to pop back out.

_DU-DUN, DUN-DUN,DUN-DUN,DUN-DUN,DUN-DUN,DUN-DUN,DUN-DUN, DU-DU-DU-DUUUUUUUUUUN, DUN! _

"Free?! FREE?!" '_Why is the Jaws music playing?! WHY IS THE JAWS MUSIC PLAYING?!_' Happy cried as he flew up to avoid (hopefully) from being eaten.

Instead, the fin remained in the ground… stalking him. No matter where he went, Happy saw the giant fin follow him. There was no escape.

"I think we're gonna need a bigger arena." Ritchie said as Happy screamed, Garchomp following him VERY menacingly.

The crowd laughed, the entire thing being plain ridiculous. A Garchomp, vicious and terrifying… was playing with a Butterfree.

Serena howled in the stands, though everyone knew this was half-mocking Ritchie, half-funny.

"W-What are you laughing at?!" Richie shouted out, looking angry. "H-He's trying his best!"

"Oh no, that's not what they're laughing at," Ash chuckled, "Hey! Kyoji!"

"Way ahead of you!" Kyoji called back, as he hit the 'play' button on a cassette player… and suddenly the stadium speakers began to play…

**BGM: Benny Hill Theme**

Garchomp poked his head out of the ground, playfully chomping after Happy, who started to get this was a game. The only reason the League people were even allowing this to happen was because it was keeping the crowd entertained.

Ritchie started laughing, seeing it for what it was: a funny chase.

"Chomp!" '_I haven't had this much fun since I came from Sinnoh!_' the land shark said before emerging from the ground. "Gar-chomp-chomp." '_But we're in a fight, so…_' Kyoji switched off the music before the battle truly began as Garchomp started charging his favorite attack.

"I don't know what that is, but it can't be good." Ritchie said as the orb grew in Garchomp's mouth. "Happy, use Bug Bite! Stop it in its' tracks!"

"Chomp!" '_Sorry! No one stops this Gible train!_' cried the Mach Pokemon as he shot out a Draco Meteor, sending the shot upwards… then starting to fall down.

"Free!" '_Whoa, gotta move!_' Happy shouted as he moved out of the Meteor's way… only for it to follow him. "FREE!" '_OH SHIT!_' The butterfree started flying around the stadium - trying, and failing - to shake the homing meteor that followed his every move.

Ash and Pikachu turned their heads to watch the orb follow the Butterfree, who was screaming in absolute terror. The crowd also watched in disbelief as Happy finally tired and fell on the ground, the meteor just staying in midair above him. "Free?" '_I'm safe?_' he asked before the orb exploded, making a massive crater with Happy inside it.

Ash winced, as did Garchomp. "Chomp…" '_I wanted to knock him out, not kill him!_' claimed the shark before they heard groaning from inside the crater. Or just pained 'frees', depending on the person.

"That was… well, strange." the announcer said. "A playful chase that ended with a Draco Meteor knockout. And Ash Ketchum does not look happy with the result!"

"You think?! If I knew he was going to send out a Butterfree, I would've sent out Mimikyu instead!" Ash replied. "That… was just wrong in all the ways that matter."

Ritchie returned Happy to his ball, agreeing with Ash on that one. "Well, it's not like you wanted to hurt Happy." he said. "And right up until that attack, Garchomp just wanted to play."

Garchomp reclaimed his evolite clip, biting onto the bronze item holder before Ash returned him to his ball. "Ok. Let's… TRY not to have your Pokemon get one-shot." he said, blindly putting Garchomp's ball back before picking out the ball next to it, which he presumed was Mimikyu's.

Then he remembered that Mimikyu was back at the Ranch and he wasn't entirely sure what Pokemon was in the ball. Ash was more focused on having his current powerhouses on him just in case something happened, putting the balls in the belt at random.

"Well, let's see what your 'Mimikyu's' got!" Ritchie said, tossing out a ball. "Go, Zippo!" the ball opened, sending out the adorable fire lizard, making everyone coo at it.

"Alright…" Ash nodded, glancing at his ball. '_Note to self, put markers on the balls…_' he thought before he tossed it out. "Go!" The Pokeball opened up… and as Ash began to see a large form emerged, he groaned. "Ah shit…"

"CHARR!" '_LET'S DO THIS!_' Charizard roared out, letting out a blast of fire into the air. "ZARD… Char?" '_WHO AM I… wait, what?_' He glanced down, seeing the small Charmander that looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Char… Mader?" '_Um… Hi?_'

Charizard looked at Ash, and raised an eyebrow as he shrugged "Char?" '_Seriously?_'

"I thought something would go wrong! You know what happened last time!" Ash yelled, being somewhat vague, but getting the message across nevertheless.

Charizard scowled, but ultimately, saw the point. Ash brought him, Sceptile, Gible, Froakie and Goodra along because Team Rocket attacked last time. And you couldn't call it paranoia if there was justification.

Sceptile would get burned, but still win. Goodra was unfair, Froakie would soak the poor thing...Pikachu was overkill no matter what.

"Char?" '_Can I turn this into a training match? I like bullying less than you do._' Charizard said, looking at the Charmander he was only facing because Ash was worried _something _would happen.

"Uh… I think we all know how this would end." Ash said, the ref looking at Charizard and his miniature counterpart.

"I agree, but they will need to fight," he said, sounding sympathetic to their plight. "Use it as training for the weaker one, but he will have to get knocked out for him to swap him out."

The Crown Prince of Rota groaned. Paranoia _sucked_.

* * *

"You know, you could just give him that Pokedex back," Kyoji gently said to Serena, who slowly nodded.

"It would not work," Janine suddenly piped up. "The platforms are equipped with class-4 teleport dampeners. Those prevent anything from teleporting within a five meter radius, especially the Pokemon Transfer System. His Natu only got down there last time because she teleported six meters above him. Specifically to prevent what you're suggesting."

"What, giving a trainer a fair fight?" Kyoji demanded.

"Allowing a trainer to swap his or her team while in combat." she clarified. "It is unfair at this moment, but prior to the installation of the dampeners, one could use an Abra to swap out tired Pokemon for one fresh and unbloodied."

"…the rules here are weird." Kyoji sighed. "Clearly Ash just wants a fair, clean right, they should be willing to bend the rules just a bit…"

"Welcome to Kanto, where we have to put up with Shadow Pokemon attacks on a daily basis." Misty said. "He's not allowed to swap out. He leaves, he's disqualified. We give him the Pokedex, it counts as cheating because there's a teleporter built into it. It also forces us to work with what we have."

"Still think the rule is stupid." Kyoji muttered before he heard something. Something… buzzing. "…is that a piston engine?"

"Piston-you mean a gas engine?" Misty asked, confused.

"That's impossible: the oil industry died over 60 years ago thanks to-" Iris started before Sabrina's eyes widened.

"They won't DIE." she growled as she got up, the other arena goers looking at her in terror. "Everything they had turned against them, the entire _world _trying to kill them and they JUST WON'T FUCKING DIE!"

"Who?" Kyoji asked, "Who could it…" He looked up as he blinked. "…fucking… _ZEPPELINS?!_"

"_Hi~ Kanto~_" came the amplified voice of a young woman roughly Kyoji's age as two silver airships flew over the building. "_Sorry to drop in, but we like, love being dramatic!_" On the field, they could TASTE Ash's screaming at the voice. "_It's been a LONG time… but we're back~_"

"You have got to be kidding me," Misty said, withdrawing a Pokeball.

"_You thought we were gone! You were wrong~_" sang the girl. "_We're back to finish the job! Go get'em, Peons!_"

When the word 'Peon' came up, Kyoji's eyes widened - and quickly narrowed as he growled, and in a single, loud shout screamed…

"FUCKING CIPHERRRRRRRRRRR!"

* * *

**Entry 46:** Cipher Peons

The most basic members of Cipher, often pressganged into the service of the organization by threats, brainwashing or simply being psychotic, Peons are given 'enhanced mental conditioning' to feel no remorse, pity or sympathy to their victims, seeing them as merely objectives to be dealt with.

Most Peons are not issued Shadow Pokemon, but will receive one if they prove to be especially skilled at commanding them.

Contrary to popular belief, only one Cipher Admin, Miror B, was once a Peon: the admins are raised to take up their roles.

* * *

**Entry 47:** History of Cipher

Recent information has revealed the history of the organization known as Cipher. They believe themselves to be the final remnants of the old Orrean Empire, which collapsed due to extreme corruption of its' government, internal pressure from the population and external pressure from the Empire of Nihon, which finally made the empire collapse over 4000 years ago prior to the fragmentation of the Nihon Empire itself and the rise of the Kingdom of Rota.

In recent history, Cipher worked with Team Snagem of Orre to capture Pokemon 95 years ago, but a member of the team, Wes, betrayed them, stealing the only operational Snag Machine while he was at it, recruiting a young aura-user named Rui to assist in recapturing the Shadow Pokemon, eventually purifying them all and defeating the organization with the defeat and presumed suicide of Evice.

Five years later, Cipher, having rebuilt and resurfaced, kidnapped Professor Krane to assist in their Shadow Pokemon corruption research. However, a young research assistant, Michael, rescued him, captured all the Shadow Pokemon, purified them and defeated the new leader of Cipher, Greevil in battle, forcing him to disband the organization, seemingly for good.

Cipher was not finished, however: merely a year later, Evice returned, using more permanent ways of dealing with his enemies, killing both Wes and Michael and destroying the Orre Pokemon Research Facility to make sure the information to purify Shadow Pokemon was never revealed again. Combined with the nuclear bombing of Agate Village, there was nothing stopping them from taking over Orre and preparing for what would become the Cipher War.

In the end, however, the Shadow Pokemon, including the now-deceased Ho-Oh and missing XD-001, a Shadow Lugia, turned on Cipher, seemingly killing them to a man while leaving them as a plague upon the world, slowly corrupting Pokemon by Pokemon, only kept in check by the efforts of the Lucario Kingdom and the Kingdom of Rota.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: You honestly didn't think we would leave the second-worst organization in the Pokemon universe to simply fade away, did you?**

**117Jorn: Gible! *Gible stands up at the ready* It's time! **

**Gible: Gib! *Begins charging for a Draco-Meteor* **

**Takeshi Yamato: Oh, if only the crossovers were outside of the notes…**

**Thor: Indeed! After hearing what they have done, I would relish a chance to go against this 'Team Cipher'!**

**Ron the True Fan: No. You wouldn't. This is going to be the most dangerous situation Ash has ever been in. Fortunately, paranoia as a result of finally getting the fact that yes, there is a villainous team in every region, yes, they're always going to try SOMETHING and YES, Cipher is going to be worse then depicted in the games. Welcome to _Shadow of Time._**

**Ja Ne!**


	35. Chapter 34: Battle for Indigo

**Ron the True Fan: Guess who's back. Back again. Cipher's back. Shoot them dead.**

**117Jorn: Guess who's back *shotgun blast* Guess who's back *Shotgun blast* Guess who's back *Shotgun blast*Guess who's back *Shotgun blast*Guess who's back *Shotgun blast*Guess who's back *Shotgun blast*Guess who's back *Shotgun blast* Double-Tap! **

**Takeshi Yamato: *Laser blast scythes through several Cipher Peons, even arcing to hit them all* Ah, the things you can do with heavy firepower. *Lowers F-SPAR Torch* In case you're wondering about the weapon, readers, I recently picked up **_**CoD:IW**_**. (Ron: Ew, Fucking EW) It's got its problems, especially in the campaign plot, but that's what Fanfics are for, right?**

**117Jorn: …to be fair Ron, he has somewhat of a point. Infinite Warfare COULD have been an amazing game if given enough time and effort… and maybe cut off from the **_**COD **_**branding so it could be its own new series, and made by literally ANYONE other than E.A… but, a remade I.W fanfic story has potential… just need to disconnect it from everything from the original… **

**Ron the True Fan: …did you play it? **

**117Jorn: And waste my money by giving it to the black abyss that is EA's finances? Fuck that - I just watched the Lets Plays and the Cutscenes on Youtube. I still haven't forgiven them for what they tried to do with **_**SW: Battlefront 2**_… **goddamn microtransactions… **

**Ron the True Fan: …Let's get to the fic before I have the urge to sic the 12th on EA.**

* * *

**Indigo Coliseum - 1134 hours local time - Day 111 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

"Hey, dude. What's the last thing you ever thought you'd see in the sky?"

A red haired trainer looked up from his sandwich at his friend, who was staring off into the distance. "Oh uh, t-that's a deep question, I-"

"No, no, 'cause it's blimps."

Floating down from the skies above the Indigo Coliseum were a trio of zeppelins, armed to the teeth, and proudly flying the thrice-cursed sigil of Team Cypher.

* * *

Within the Coliseum itself, everyone looked up at the blimps in utter disbelief as they slowly descended from the sky.

"...Sabrina, am I going insane, or is Cipher trying to attack us using _blimps_?" Kyoji muttered.

"Technically they're Zeppelins, but yes… it seems so." She nodded.

"...while there is a Legendary here, who could quite easily torch them from the sky?" Kyoji asked, glancing at Moltres who was already glaring at them. "Because those things are _very _combustible?"

"...no one said Cipher was smart." Sabrina said before sighing. "And they're using helium."

"Damn it!" Kyoji groaned. "...oh well, at least it'll be funny hearing them talk with all that helium they're sucking in…"

"_Now, I know what you're all thinking_." said the girl with the accent as the larger of the two craft approached for a landing. "Y_ou're wondering how we're not dead! Cipher was, like, killed all those years ago, right? Nope! A lot of us were, but we're back and ready to finish the job!_"

"_Lovrina, enough_!" yelled a voice in the background.

"_Oh, FINE. Surrender, like right now, give us your Pokemon and we'll let you live to see the dawn of the new Orrean Empire_!" said the now named Lovrina as ropes were thrown down, armored grunts sliding down them.

"The one time I didn't have a gun." Kyoji muttered. The girl loudly whooped, wearing a one-piece white dress and her hair was…

'_...why did she have to have pink hair and look cute…_' Kyoji thought, before freezing. '_IDIOT SABRINA'S RIGHT THERE!_' He glanced at Sabrina… but it seemed her attention was focused squarely on Cipher at the moment. '_Oh thank sweet Arceus…_'

"Time to get started!" cried Lovrina, giggling as she fell.

* * *

Ash _knew _something like this would happen. He was expecting Team Rocket. Sabrina told him there were two admins left, Ariana and Patel, but Ariana was helping the Kanto League, so he expected Patel to make one 'death or glory' attack.

Well, he was right about the attack, just not _who _was doing it.

Charizard glared up and looked at the pink-haired leader, snorting. "Char." '_Yeah...fuck you_.' he said, charing up a Fire Blast, but Moltres beat him to it, spitting out a stream of fire at the 'Peons,' roasting them alive in their armor. Charizard's ball of death shot past the girl, who yelped as it missed her, but set her fast line on fire.

"You know what, forget it!" she yelled as she jumped off, pulling a line on a bag on her back as soon as she was clear, unfurling a parachute. "Peons! EVERYONE, LIKE DIES!"

"Not if I have a say in it!" Ash said, pulling out two of his Pokeballs, releasing what he hoped was Garchomp in the air (it was, thankfully, as Garchomp tossed his evolite clip into the arena) and Sceptile into the stands, people rushing to get out of the building as he did so.

"Pika!" '_Ash, behind us!_' Pikachu cried as a Peon dropped down behind them, locking back the bolt of some crute-looking gun as he landed, only for Pikachu to electrocute the grunt, sending him flying into a wall.

"Thanks, Pikachu." Ash said. His starter nodded in response. Ash sent out Goodra and Froakie, both in the stands. "Clear these guys out and keep everyone safe! Charizard, burn those things to the ground, but make sure they don't crash in the-" A gunshot rang out and a bullet zipped past his head from behind, fired from inside the tunnel.

"Hate to say, boy, but you ain't goin' nowhere." said the shooter as he came into view, revealing a tall, dark-skinned man wearing a purple jacket that was open from the front with a MASSIVE afro on his head colored like a Pokeball. In his hand was a gold-plated revolver with a barrel that was at the bottom instead of on top of the cylinder. "Gotta ge' rid o' you, Mista Crown Prince o' Rota. Ain't nothing personal."

Ash looked the man over, from top to bottom. "...the fuck are you, and the fuck is wrong with your hair?" He muttered.

"Fool, I'm Miror.B!" The man exclaimed, spinning the gun on his finger. "Admin and Disco-Champion of Cipher, fool!"

Ash decided to focus on getting out of there: he was cornered. "Pikachu, Thunder!" he commanded. 'Miror B' looked skyward and saw the lightning bolt come before he dived over the side, hanging from the wooden handrails before it slammed down. The poke-fro'ed man barely hanging on as Ash ran past him, intending to get deeper into the building.

"Hey!" Miror B snapped as he started climbing back up, aiming his revolver at Ash, firing another shot at him, but missing as he had to hold onto the railing to prevent falling into the seemingly bottomless pit below. "Get back ere! I'm gonna shoot your ass dead, boy!"

* * *

Ash and Pikachu got a fair distance away, gunfire distantly echoing in the building's halls. "Pikapi!" '_Ash, that nutcase is going to KILL us. You have to get over that hangup-_' Pikachu started before Ash stopped.

"Protect Misty and the others. Get those Cipher punks out of the arena, too." Ash said before reaching into his shirt, pulling out a small metal key.

"Pika?" '_You're actually going to-_' Pikachu said before cutting himself off. "Pi." '_This is unlike you._'

"These people want to conquer the world. They're like Team Galactic." Ash said, ripping the loose necklace from his neck, holding the key to the arms locker his weapons were stored in. "And they don't care who they hurt. It's self-defense as far as I'm concerned."

"Pika-pi." '_Well then let's get moving.'_

A round glanced off the concrete above them. "You're dead, boy!" Miror B shouted, firing off another shot that grazed Ash's arm.

"Pi- KA!" '_Will you FUCK OFF!' _Pikachu shouted, letting loose a Shadow Bolt that tore across the hallway ceiling towards Miror, sending chunks of concrete falling as it did so. Miror swore and dove for cover.

"Let's go!" Ash shouted, bolting down the opposite direction.

* * *

**Oak Ranch - 1139 hours local time**

* * *

The moment things went wrong on the radio, Belladonna and the Professor gathered all of Ash's Pokemon for one purpose: war.

Well, Belladonna gathered them: she had longer legs then he did, not to mention she was younger, while the Professor scrambled to do something to help.

As the regional professor (and first champion of the modern Kanto League, but who remembered THAT?) Oak had access to the shutdown commands for Indigo Plateau's teleport dampeners. A massive amount of trust, you may say. But given that Samuel Oak's greatest and only ambition was to learn more about Pokemon and his Pokemon were content to train the next generation, he WAS the best person to give the codes to.

So as it stood, he had to get Ash's pokemon to him ASAP - even if it meant taking down the field, which at this point wouldn't really change all that much since Cipher was attacking using bloody _Zeppelins_.

"Mi?" Oak glanced down, noticing the small rag-like Pokemon Mimikyu staring up at him in concern.

"...you're going first." Oak stated, "Get into your ball - Ash is gonna need you, and everyone else."

"Mi?" the Disguise Pokemon said before a strange...purple Pokemon came in, saying "Poi!"

"Took me almost forever to get him here." Belladonna said, panting as she caught her breath. "Think he's going to need the new guys?"

"Other than the Ultra Beast?" Oak said as he sent Mimikyu to Indigo, programming the teleporter to automatically release her on arrival. "Do you know how many calls I've gotten from that gibberish-spouting man about Ash getting a Poipole?"

"Yeah, wasn't talking about needle-boy here." Belladonna said, patting the alien Pokemon's head. "I meant the Machop, Bellsprout and Houndour. You know, the ones-"

"They're in recovery, Bell: you know that." the old man said. "He'll have to make due with the ones he's already got."

"Good thing I'm a poison master." she said, smirking. "I've been teaching the guy some new tricks." she then returned him, tossing the ball to her boss/surrogate grandfather, who sent it on through. "...I'm not getting the Muk. I _hate_ Muk."

"Get the rest of them: _I'll _get the Muk!" the professor said, sending through Ivysaur, Hawlucha, Staravia and Noibat, hoping they would help Ash survive this new incursion.

* * *

**Indigo Coliseum Skybox - 1138 hours**

* * *

"When the hell is Samuel going to override the dampeners?!" Lance yelled, wanting to get all of his team here to make these remnant Cipher bastards get the hell off his lawn.

"They need to spin down anyways." Cynthia said, moving to leave. "I'm taking the fight to them. You want to come along-"

Gunshots were heard outside the room, the security guards having a battle of their own with Cipher Peons, probably ones that had infiltrated the building.

"Well, that's not good." Gaffery said, his Gible jumping off his lap. "Time for plan B."

"What, agitate the Moltres?" Steven asked. "If it uses anything BUT the lightest flamethrower, it will kill not only the Cipher fools, but EVERYONE ELSE, too! Overheat will flash-boil us alive-"

Blaine scoffed. "Young man, we are all aware of how dangerous a Legendary using normal attacks is." said the Cinnabar gym leader. "Anything can and _will_ kill us if aimed improperly, which is the only reason the fire crane ISN'T blasting everything!"

"No." the psychiatrist said before taking off a panel covering the electricals for the lighting and PA system. "We're going to take the fight to Peons."

Gaffery stuck his hand into the box, reaching around several times before finally grabbing what he was looking for.

"Brace the door." he said, grunting. "Getting these out is going to be a pain."

"What, a wrench?" Erika said before doing as he asked, locking the door and shoving a chair in front of it for good measure.

"No." he said before withdrawing… a handgun with… a flashlight?... attached under the barrel. Smirking, he casually tossed it to Lance, who fumbled the catch, as that toss broke many firearm safety rules.

"What the hell, Gaffery?!" he yelled before checking the weapon, seeing there was no magazine before brass checking it; pulling back the slide to make damn sure there wasn't a round chambered. There wasn't. "You keep guns in the skybox?!"

"I'm not just the League shrink, Lance: you know that." Gaffery said, retrieving another one and tossing it to Cynthia, who brass-checked it as well. "Former Elite Four and all that. I helped build this place."

"Well, that's great: a bunch of empty guns." Cynthia said. Gaffery withdrew a third and final gun before pulling out a small case, which he opened as soon as it was clear, showing it to be filled with magazines and separate, large bullets. "Never mind. What's with the other rounds?"

Gaffery took two magazines, loading one into the weapon before taking all the larger rounds and stuffing them in his pockets. "You'll see." he said cryptically, giving their guest a look. "Shame rich boy can't pay them to fuck off, right?"

"Yeah," Kyril said, with a slight gleam in his eye. "Real shame, that. Well, I suppose Rin and I should get going. We're not trainers, so even with guns we might be better suited in a shelter."

Obviously, they weren't going to just sit around in a shelter, but he had to at least pretend they were. To keep up appearances.

It was a good thing that the Indigo Plateau 'Marauder Base' was actually underneath the stadium. Oh, sure, there was the standard 'Pernon Group cover facility' connected to it elsewhere, but Kyril was paranoid. And given that he attended these conferences as one of the key backers, it made sense to add a secondary entrance through the stadiums.

That being said, they were still stuck in the room, with a single door and a hallway filled with pissed Orreans.

"And you weren't referring to me?" Steven asked, half smiling.

"All your profits go to the League in one way or another." Gaffery said before loading a big bullet into the underbarrel attachment, which they thought was a flashlight, but was a smoothbore launcher, taking cover by the door. "They're going to be in for a nasty surprise."

* * *

A Peon put a shotgun by the door handle, preparing to shoot it off.

All the big League honchos were here. If they got them, the former URN was screwed.

He pulled the trigger, blasting it off before breaching the room. All he got for his trouble was a bullet to the eye, punching through his helmet visor and going into his brain.

More Peons followed, but they were also shot at, their thin steel armor only good enough to stop normal pistol caliber bullets, but the ones that Gaffery, Lance and Cynthia were using were essentially mini-rifle rounds, punching through and causing terrible, terrible damage to their insides. Then Gaffery fired the underbarrel, which hit a target, which happened to be a Peon, and exploded.

The man chunked, spraying the next three men behind him in blood and meat chunks. Shrapnel tore through the first man and pieced through three others, dropping one and disabling the other two.

By now, the twelve man squad had been reduced to a measly four, with only two of them really able to put up any resistance. The last two were easily dealt with, as Gaffery's Gible made himself known, tearing one peon's weapon in half with a single bite, taking some fingers with it.

The last combatant turned at his comrade's screams and raised his rifle, only to drop as Gaffery socked him with his pistol.

"Palkia's wings, I thought that was just a launcher for a bigger bullet," Erika said as she carefully made her way out of the room and into the now-clear hall. "Might I suggest we get our Pokemon and clear out the facility?"

"Moltres can't blast those airships, so-" Lance said, knocking out the peon holding his bloodied hand. Roaring was heard from a Garchomp, Charizard and Goodra in the distance. "…I suppose Mr. Ketchum will buy us time to get our Pokemon onto the field."

Gaffery reloaded his weapon. "I'll take point: Cynthia, take up the rear." he said, making the Johto-born champion scowl at him.

* * *

Kyoji punched a Peon in the face - stealing his shotgun and blasting him in the torso. "Gible!" He called out.

_Du-dun, du-dun,du-dun!_ Gible's yellow fin snaked around the earth, leading up to a _very _confused peon - before suddenly he was absorbed into the earth up to his shoulders. Gible popping out of the dirt, smiling.

"Good, now a few-" Kyoji began to say, before there was a high-pitch scream.

"OH MY GOD IS THAT GIBLE YELLOW?!"

Kyoji glanced… and sighed as he saw the strange pink-haired girl standing there - looking at his Gible with starry eyes. "Oh my god he's like, SO CUTE!" She gushed.

"Yeah, he's cute alright." Kyoji nodded.

"Awww… if you don't resist, we can make him stronger you know!" The woman said pointedly.

"…tempting, but no." Kyoji shook his head, "I like my Gible nice and un-shadowified…" He glanced around for a moment, making sure the area was clear before he sighed. "Ya know what, I gotta ask… I'm sorry, miss…?"

"Lovrina!" She stated proudly. "And you?"

"Kyoji - look, Lovrina…" Kyoji shook his head. "...why exactly _do _you want to make Shadow pokemon? I mean… you seem like a nice girl and all, but… what's the point of turning Pokemon into these shadow monsters, when all they've done is make the world _worse_?"

"Have you SEEN Orre?!" she demanded. "It's all but desert! And it's not our fault, either! We gotta have Shadow Pokemon because no Pokemon live in Orre! We gotta make them stay! They get more powerful when they get all Shadowed up, too!"

"Sure they're more powerful, but they can't be controlled." Kyoji deadpanned, "Also, what's stopping Orre from getting a bunch of life-oriented Pokemon from _spreading _life? Put a couple plant-types, fairy-types, water-types and ground-types together, and you can quickly make a thriving ecosystem. Plus, if you could provide transport, Xerneas could probably be able to help… pretty sure the only reason Xerneas hasn't gotten to Orre sooner is because she can't swim."

"That damned tree deer can fly! She hates us!" Lovrina snapped.

"Why would Xerneas hate you?" Kyoji questioned, "She loves _all _life."

"Because Yveltal gave us the power to make Shadow Pokemon!" she said, releasing a cat-like Pokemon, which had a purple mane and three whip-like ends to the tail.

"Then ask her for forgiveness and admit you fucked up," Kyoji sighed, pulling up his confiscated shotgun. "Better that than to keep torturing poor Pokemon like this, and letting them go rampant on the world."

"We can control them better! Now, hand over the Yellow Gible!" Lovrina said before the Delcatty started growling, her right eye twitching.

Kyoji glanced at Gible, who looked back. "Do you wanna be a Shadow?" He asked.

"Gib." '_No thanks, I'm good._' Gible shook his head.

"My Gible does not consent," Kyoji stated, pumping the shotgun. "And neither do I."

"Well, too bad!" Lovrina said as Delcatty's twitching got worse and the Shadow Pokemon's glow showed that it entered 'Reverse Mode.' "You don't get a choi-" She was cut off as she watched her Delcatty turn its gaze towards her, twitching menacingly.

Kyoji watched as the Shadow pokemon glared at Lovrina. "…I'm sorry, what was that you said about 'being able to control them better'?" He asked, with a deadpan expression.

The cat then looked at Gible, pouncing on the land shark, who simply ducked into the concrete. Gible could seemingly swim through anything.

'_I wonder… what do Shadow pokemon say?_' Kyoji thought, as he looked at the Delcatty and tried to listen to it…

"DEL! DEL! DEL! DEL!" '_KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!_' cried the Delcatty as it chased the yellow fin of the land shark.

'_...You know, I don't know what else I was expecting…_' Kyoji sighed, glancing at Lovrina. "Case and point… you literally _cannot _control Shadows."

"T-This doesn't prove anything!" Lovrina exclaimed.

"It's literally shouting 'Kill' over and over again."

"How do you _know _that?!"

"I can talk to Pokemon - you learn a lot of things when you can understand what they're saying."

Lovrina blinked. Then she sighed. "Just wanna do what's best for Orre," she said. "Cipher's doing something and no one wants to help us."

"Just because Cipher is doing _something_, doesn't mean it's the best thing for Orre." Kyoji said, taking a step forward. "And no one's helping Orre because they are _terrified _of the Shadows _you _created, and never stopped creating. Cipher isn't helping Orre… it's only going to make it _worse _for Orre if they keep this up."

A Staraviaswooped in and used Wing Attack on the normal-type cat, followed by a Swellow forming a ball of air in her mouth and unleashing Boom Burst on the Delcatty, launching it into the now-unoccupied stands higher up on the western side.

The Shadow distracted, Kyoji took the chance to glare at the Moltres, who was still just roosting there. "AND WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" he demanded.

"Mol!" '_I'm sorry, do you WANT me to kill every human here? I do anything but Flamethrower, that's what will happen!_' the bird cawed back. "Moltres!" '_You think I _want _to sit here, doing nothing?! I want to KILL these Yveltal worshippers!_'

Kyoji pointed to the Zeppelins still high in the air. "Then shoot the guys that are still way up in the air!" He exclaimed. "There's enough distance!"

Moltres looked up at the airships, blinking once before nodding. "Mol." '_Okay, fair enough._' The Bird acknowledged.

"…holy crap, you can talk to Pokemon…" Lovrina muttered.

Moltres took off, cawing before taking a breath, lobbing a Fire Blast at the lead airship and setting the outer skin on fire. but the ship's lifting gas was not igniting. That being said, it was helium, after all: helium didn't burn.

But the gas bags expanded, the hot frame melting the bags before they punctured, venting the gas into the surrounding area.

And everyone knows what helium does.

"…well now," Kyoji muttered, with a far more high-pitched voice. "I should have thought _that _one through… gonna be hard to take this fight seriously now…"

Gible then surfaced, taking a deep breath. "Gible!" '_Funny gas!_' said the land shark in a VERY high pitched voice.

"…AWWWWWWWW!" Lovrina gushed as Gibles new voice - her own voice now equally high-pitched.

Moltres slammed into the wreckage, attempting to make sure it landed away from the building. After all, there were still thousands of people trying to escape the stands and if it fell...helium voices or not, it would not be funny to hear their screaming.

"Well, as fun as this was talking to you, I still have a job to do, so… surrender your Pokemon or suffer the consequences." Lovrina said, helium still making her voice insanely high-pitched.

"You're not getting Gible," Kyoji retorted, Gible nodding with him.

"You don't have a choice!" she said, tossing out another Pokeball. "Go, Altaria!" the ball opened, releasing the massive cloud bird, the roar revealing it was a Shadow Pokemon as well.

"You people are _crazy_."

"We need to do this, for Orre!" Lovrina exclaimed. "Now, Altaria, use-" the Altaria began to twitch, violently so. "OH SON OF A-"

* * *

Away from Kyoji, things were less funny, Helium or no helium. A Shadow Mawile chased after Misty, whose Starmie and Staryu hit the fairy/steel-type with Hydro Pump, but the Deceiver Pokemon was relentless, powering through the pressurized water, slowly but surely making its' way to Misty, getting to Staryu before using the massive secondary mouth on its' back to bite down on the starfish, crushing the rock it was made of, then tossing it like a shuriken into a seat, going through the steel.

"Kiya!" '_Stay the hell away from my trainer, you psychopathic freak!_" Starmie cried, redoubling its' efforts to stop the literal iron pokemon.

"Maw…" '_But she looks so tasty…_' said the Mawile, which would have made the sea star blanch if it were possible.

"Ya!" '_Screw you! You're not getting to my sister!_' Starmie snapped before adding psionic might to the mix, using Psybeam on the corrupted Mawile.

But the insane Shadow Pokemon continued its' march.

"Bay!" '_Hey!_' yelled a surprise as the steel-type was barrelled over by something much faster and just as heavy.

The steel-type slammed into a chair, metal screaming as the Pokemon tore into the seats, it tore into more of them getting up, finding the one that slammed into it.

It was a grass-type from Johto. Bayleef. "Bayleef!" '_I might not want her to get together with Ash, but stay the fuck away from her!_' Ash's Bayleef yelled, whipping her head-leaf to send Razor Leaves at the Mawile, who batted them away, screeching as it charged at the Johto starter, who charged back, running up stairs as Mawile ran down, lowering her head to ram into the Mawile.

The two Pokemon rammed into together, impacting their heads with enough force to crack the stairs under their feet as they grunted, pushing for supremacy. But Bayleef summoned forth her Vine whips, which wrapped around the Steel-type's neck, as she added the extra force to push it down into the ground.

"Bay…" '_Stay…' _Bayleef reared up on her back feet. "Leaf!" '_Down!' _Bringing down her feet, Bayleef Stomped, and Stomped and Stomped, pushing the Shadow deeper and deeper into the concrete.

But while it won in the end, in the short term, nature was no match for the power of steel. The Mawile powered itself back to its feet, blasting Bayleef away with a Shadow-powered Sucker Punch. The abomination's trainer cackled before he abruptly stopped.

"Maw…" '_Stupid. Now you're food_.' said the glassy-eyed steel-type. Bayleef simply chuckled in reply.

"Bay." '_I wasn't trying to beat you_.' she said before Mawile's head turned around, feeling air pass over it…

Charizard, holding its trainer by the neck, glaring at the Deceiver Pokemon. Snarling, he snapped the Peon's neck, snorting smoke out of his nostrils.

"Char." '_Get the fuck away from my sister_.' demanded the Flame Pokemon, tossing the body away. Grabbing the Mawile, he tossed it into the air before torching it with Flamethrower. Steel was no real match for fire. As the Shadow fell, Charizard used Dragon Claw on it to bat it into an empty set of chairs, the steel-type suffering heavy burns from the fire. Finally Bayleef used her vines to toss the Mawile's ball at the Shadow Pokemon, returning it.

"Bay." '_Nice_.' she said, seeing the hundreds of Cipher Peons swarming the arena before looking at her Kanto counterpart. "Leef." '_We got our work cut out for us, huh_?'

Charizard watched as Froakie did what ninja did best, eliminating the distracted Peons while Pokemon like Ivysaur and Squirtle got their attention while that Trapinch that came with the Sinnoh and Hoenn teams used his jaws to break their legs.

"Zar." '_It'll be a workout_.' the starter said simply. "Char." '_Maybe you'll evolve this time_.'

"Bay?" '_And have Sceptile mooning over me_?' she retorted. "Lee." '_No thank you_.'

* * *

Fletchinder was enjoying being her bigger self. It wasn't Talonflame, but it would do. She used Brave Bird on a Shadow Gloom, knocking it out of the fight before it could hurt Froakie, who didn't see it behind him.

The ninja frog gave her a grateful nod before diving back into the fray.

A Shadow Magmar rushed at her, screaming something she couldn't quite get before Squirtle blind-sided him, using Brine on the damn thing. Nodding her thanks, she looked up at Moltres, who was cawing overhead, ripping into the side of one of the blimps with its talons.

Now THAT was a Legendary. On fire, no bells or whistles, just a bird that happened to embody fire in its purest form.

'Don't get distracted.' she thought, going back to the fight. 'You have a bunch of idiots to deal with.'

At least Tranquill was having fun beating the crap out of someone.

And so were Jigglypuff, Monferno and Starav-Nope. He evolved while fighting a Shadow Swellow. Staraptor, then.

Fletchinder decided to focus on the fight. Everyone else was fine.

* * *

Snorunt used Ice Beam on a Shadow Cubone, freezing it into a block before moving on to another target.

He hadn't evolved yet, despite training every freaking day with everyone, practicing his moveset like a madman.

So why the hell wasn't he turning back into a damn Glalie?!

A roar was heard as a Shadow Salamence flew overhead, heading for Pidgeot, who was busy Hyper Beaming some Shadow normal-type into the ground.

"Sno!" '_Pidgeot, look out_!' he cried, using the strongest Ice Beam he could manage to defend Ash's first flying-type from the dragon, the cool beam of ice energy hitting the dragon in the right wing, making it veer into somewhat empty stands. One person was crushed by the falling dragon as it thrashed about, throwing them into a steel chair, their head colliding with a metallic thud.

The Dragon Pokemon roared, getting back on its feet, glaring at Snorunt, who did not bother running away. He'd faced worse. He survived the end of the universe.

Well, Ash brought him back, but still.

"Sno!" '_Come and get me_!' he shouted, charging up an Ice Beam in his arms as the dragon ran at him, screaming bloody murder - literally - as it came towards him.

"Runt-Sno!" '_Screw you!_' Snorunt yelled, firing an Ice Beam four times the usual strength, almost to the point where he blacked out.

The Salamence, on the other hand, was hit with the frosty beam, freezing the head solid. The dragon slid on the concrete, and bounced. The neck and shoulders following suit along with the wings.

"Geot?" "_What the hell was that_?" Pidgeot asked before looking at the Salamence. "Pidgeot!" '_Nice work, Glalie_!'

The ice-type blinked before seeing that he wasn't touching the ground, but hovering over it. He was back to normal. "Gla!" '_About time_!' he cried. Then, suddenly, he wanted to take a nap.

He fell to the ground, face-first. Then again, Glalies were all head.

* * *

"Okay… my last Pokemon… Farfetch'd, please just… do as I say, please…" Lovrina begged at her last Pokemon, which had the telltale signs of Shadow's on it.

Kyoji meanwhile still stood there - using his shotgun more like a cane, as Gible just dug around in a circle, waiting. "Five out of six of your pokemon have gone into rage-mode." He said calmly. "How does this not sink in yet?"

"I've had Farfetch'd for a while!" Lovrina shouted, "He won't-" The Farfetch'd let out a loud yell before it rushed back towards the battle in a mad dash - attacking anyone in his way. "…OH COME ON!"

"…and my point still stands." Kyoji sighed, Gible popping out with a nod. "You _cannot _control Shadow Pokemon, not for long at least. They go rogue and get people, Pokemon and _themselves _killed."

"…s-still!" She exclaimed, "You… you're outnumbered with everyone else! Please… I… I don't want anyone else getting hurt here, just… surrender your pokemon!"

"It won't happen," Kyoji shook his head. "We'll always stop you, no matter what you do…"

"You and what army?!" She shouted… as the ground suddenly began to rumble.

_Du-Dun. Du-Dun. Du-Dun. Du-Dun._

Kyoji blinked, glancing at his Gible. "...since when could you do that in stereo?" He asked.

"Gib." '_Not me._' Gible Smiled. "Gible!" '_It's everyone else!_'

"What do you…" Kyoji's eyes widened. "…oh my god…"

Kyoji wondered where Ash's Garchomp went. As soon as everything started, the Mach Pokemon flew off and disappeared.

Well, it made sense.

Johto and Kanto had a lot of Diglett. And a little known fact about Diglett… they co-evolved with Gible. Where there was one, there was usually the other.

And while they were easier to find in other regions, Gible were plentiful in Johto and Kanto, too.

A fin poked out of the ground, revealing a Gible, then another… and another… and a LOT of others.

"GIBLE!" cried the seeming army of land sharks.

And they remembered Cipher. And like all wild Pokemon, they had long memories and HATED the sight of the Cipher Peon.

"GIBLE!" they cried, swarming the stadium and attacking the Cipher forces, swarming a Shadow Lotad like piranhas, a Peon getting jumped by another angry Gible school…

It went on and on, Gibles even helping out a herd of Tauros that…

"How did Ash get his herd here?" Kyoji asked before a group of Gibles and a Gabite rushed at Lovrina.

Lovrina gulped, backing up trying to get away from the Gible army…

"Hold on there, little guys!" Kyoji called up, as his Gible stepped up - standing between them and Lovrina. "Gib!" '_Wait!_'

In perfect sync, all of the Gibles and the Gabite stopped in their tracks, looking at Jaden and the yellow Gible in confusion.

"Gab?" '_Isn't… she with them?_' Gabite asked, looking menacingly at Lovrina - who looked a mix between terrified and confused.

"Yes, but… let me and my Gible handle her, alright?" Kyoji pleaded. "Please?"

The Gibles looked at the Gabite, who then noticed Ash's Shiny Noctowl fighting another normal, Shadow Noctowl. Gabite made a Gabite warcry and led his Gible school to help the Shiny.

"…You…" Lovrina started before her Altaria slammed into the stands, groaning as something crawled out of the fluffy wings.

It was purple and batty. "Noi…" '_Never doing that again…_' said Ash's Noibat.

"Look, you're obviously not very good at the whole conquest thing." Kyoji said. Gible nodded in agreement. "You're probably just going through this because you're trying to save Orre or something - and that in itself is a noble thing… but have you considered the lives you're endangering doing this? There are millions of people in Kanto; thousands here at this stadium today." Noibat flew past his head, a normal Gible going after him to help. "Did you think about them?"

"I…" Lovrina muttered… oddly enough her 'valley girl' voice dropped a bit, sounding more… normal. "N-No… but… t-they never think about us though! They've never tried to help us!"

"Because your Shadow Pokemon continue to make the world more and more dangerous for people to travel," Kyoji sighed. "Look… you seem like a nice girl and all, and you can probably do good things… but it's not with Cipher…"

"…yeah, Cipher made mistakes, but…" She spoke, "We… we need to do something! I… I can't just…"

"You can leave," Kyoji offered, "Start somewhere here in Kanto, Johto or literally anywhere else, and use it as a chance to help Orre."

"But I… I can't leave Cipher," She shook her head. "It's… all I've known, I… I can't abandon them…"

"…then I can at least offer you a chance to leave this place then," Kyoji said, picking up his weapon again. "Leave Kanto… and think very _long _and _hard _about what you really want to do…"

The pinkette looked at the army of land sharks… then ran away, heading for a line to the airship that was still airborne.

"Gib." '_I think we can save her._' said the yellow land shark.

"Hope so. Sometimes decent people are raised by pure evil." Kyoji said as a bullet narrowly missed his head, fired by a Peon with an SAA Revolver. "ASSHOLE!" He dropped to a knee as he aimed - firing the shotgun and blowing the Peon away. "Alright Gible, back to business!"

"Gib!" '_I love business!_' Gible said before diving back into the concrete and doing the shark thing.

* * *

**Weapons Storage - 1149 hours local time**

* * *

Ash entered the room where Kyoji and all the others stored the weapons they were forced to carry for their own safety thanks to the Shadow Pokemon threat. Ash would be more than happy to let them rust and rot away, but Miror B was not playing fair, even with Pikachu drawing him off to give Ash time to get armed up.

A bullet grazed his shoulder, the massive round slamming into a wall. Ash grunted and ducked behind the rows of lockers as a shield.

"Damn, out of ammo." Mirror B said, swinging open his revolverand emptying it out. "Ther' ain't no way out of here, little Princy! Yer gonna die in here!"

Ash didn't say anything, using what little ninja training he had from the last timeline with Koga's sister Aya to remain as silent as possible.

"Nothin' ta say?" Miror B said as he flicked the revolver closed. "No yells 'a defiance, screaming that I'll neva win? Well, maybe you'll hear dis, Ash Ketchum."

Ash got to his locker, quietly putting in the barrel key and opening the locker, the squeaking making the giant poke-fo move towards him.

"Make it easy for me, why doncha?" the disco maniac said, rounding a corner… and only finding an empty row with one opened locker. "Ok, you're good. Give ya that. But we know all about you."

_Click_

"I doubt that," Ash said, his rifle pointed at the back of the disco man's head, having made his way to the row behind the one where his arms locker was while Miror B was rushing over and circled round to get behind him to get the drop on him.

Miror B smirked. "Nice touch." he said, raising his hands.

"Drop it and put your hands behind your head." Ash demanded, referring to the weird revolver. "I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to."

"Really? And lose any information I got on your old timeline?" Miror B said, much to Ash's shock.

The man used that shock to spin around, kicking the rifle out of Ash's hands before blades, almost like ice skates, shot out of the soles of his disco boots, where he started to try and kick Ash in the throat.

Ash instinctively ducked backwards - narrowly avoiding the bladed feet. Rolling over, he got some distance before reaiming his handgun at him. "How the fuck do you know about that?" He demanded.

"Heh… it's funny, really…" Mirror B smirked. "We're both not all that different, actually… we all want the same thing."

"You're corrupting Pokemon into these… Shadow monsters." Ash growled. "We're nothing alike."

"Oh, yes we are." Mirror B chuckled. "After all… we _both _want to stop Cyrus, don't we?" Ash blinked at that. "Oh yes, we know about him… 60 years ago, we tried to stop him: we were going to use Shadow Pokemon to conquer the four original regions, and prevent his rise to power before he even _started_… of course, things didn't go _quite _as planned…"

"You mean you murdered millions and broke the world!?" Ash snapped, firing his homemade pistol at Miror B, who dodged the first shot with a twirl, the next two by bending over backwards.

"We had ta kill a lot a people: Cyrus was't eve' born yet!" Miror B said, disco dancing behind the rows of lockers to take cover from Ash's wild firing. "Can't do a dance wit-out steppin' on toes, right? I mean, they even got ME to join back up!"

Ash got his rifle back, sliding it back to him with his B broke cover and fired at him, forcing Ash to take cover again before Miror B's gun went dry.

"You don't look a hundred years old!" Ash snapped as he picked up the rifle, instinctively checking for damage. "Forty at most!"

"Yeah, well, when ya gotta Chansey tha uses a super-powered Heal Pulse on ya, it turns the clock back." Miror B retorted. "Nearly kills the thing, but it keeps da wrinkles off."

"…you're a piece of shit." Ash growled.

"I'm a piece of shit that's gonna save the world, and get worshipped by the masses." Miror B laughed as he launched himself forward. Ash fired - missed - but before he could be pierced by the blades, he rolled backwards and started running - making his way back towards the stadium firing back at the crazed man chasing after him.

"Ya can't run foreva!" Miror B said, firing at Ash. "You'll get tired eventually an' when that happens, Orre's gonna CELEBRATE the day ya died!"

* * *

**Entry 48: The Fall of Unova**

While the government of Unova did not collapse, it became ineffective to the point of civil war following the Cipher War.

While Unova was not the first initial target, it was the second, being the second-closest region to Orre besides Kanto, and the Cipher High Command determined that keeping Unova out of the fight was necessary for their conquest of the URN. Two divisions of Shadow Pokemon-equipped Peons were sent to Unova, sowing chaos alongside the organizations that would later give birth to Team Plasma. The southern half of the country fell to Cipher, with an estimated 48% of the Region's Pokemon being corrupted.

Following the Shadow Rebellion, many Cipher Peons were left in Unova, some blending into the crowd, but eventually they were discovered and subjected to mob justice. It took 24 years for Unova to reunify, at the cost of almost all social development.

* * *

**Entry 49: The Fall of Kalos**

While Kalos was not an intended target, according to intel from (REDACTED: Level 9 clearance only - Elite Four and above) they were hit due to greed consuming the thoughts of Cipher's higher-ups.

While Kalos is not known for a large military, it did have some of the most advanced at the time, with their aerial battleships - only five of which survived, including the heavily-modified _Hikōkyū_ commanded by Lawrance Gelardan - protecting their waters. The Shadow invasion was chosen to be one made only by Pokemon, with Shadow-contained Pokeballs being dropped into Kalos' wilds. Outlying villages were destroyed in a matter of weeks, with corrupted Fletchinders destroying much of Kalos' aerial forces and small towns before the Shadow Rebellion.

The areas are still abandoned to this day, not only because of Shadow infestation, but a collective desire to remember the fallen.

* * *

**117Jorn: …Miror B is fucking nuts…**

**Ron the True Fan: Cipher as a WHOLE is nuts. They worship Yveltal! You know, the Pokemon version of the GRIM REAPER, the first confirmed Shadow Pokemon and the big reason Giratina hides in the distortion realm? And before anyone asks, the Lovrina shown here is not the same one as seen in **_**XD: Gale of Darkness**_**. It's actually her great-granddaughter. That should tell you how FUCKED UP this organization is.**

**Takeshi Yamato: …Yeah, it's pretty fucked up. I wouldn't be surprised if it's even more fucked up than Britannia. As in, the Holy Britannian Empire.**

**Ron the True Fan: Yes, while writing this, Take compared them to Lelouch. I kinda shut him up by comparing them more rightfully to someone far more evil and real. Let's just say 1925-1945 is the only hint you'll get on that front. As for how Cipher knows? As someone complained about in a review about Shadow Pokemon purification, (you know who you are) Cipher had a Shadow Celebi. Celebi are agents of time. They see into timelines like you read this Author's Note. That Shadow Celebi also happens to be the one that sent Ash back in time. Mental displacement's a _bitch_.**

**Ja Ne!**


	36. Chapter 35: Death of Peace

**Ron the True Fan: Last chapter of the Cipher attack on Kanto. The fic, or rather the Kanto Arc of the fic, is almost over. A couple more and I'll be labelling this one complete and renaming it.**

**Takeshi Yamato: And then we start planning the next arc - which is NOT the Orange Islands! (Ron: FUCK THE ORANGE ISLANDS!)**

**117Jorn: …wait, we're not? Why? I mean… doesn't the Orange Isles tie into the 2nd Pokemon Movie's events? **

**Ron the True Fan: The only important thing there is Shamouti. Screw the pure filler series: we'll deal with adapting it when we get there.**

* * *

**Indigo Coliseum - Level 27 - 1154 hours local time - Day 111 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

The thing about armor was that it was both useful and useless at the same time. Chainmail was all but sword and knife-proof, but couldn't stop things like maces or clubs from hurting the wearer. Plate armor added protection against that sort of thing when added to chainmail, but arrows could still go through the exposed points like the joints and neck. Scale armor was arrow and sword-proof, but had the same weakness as chainmail when it came to blunt things slamming into you.

Cipher's Peons wore plate armor, reinforced to stop the most common bullets and lower-tier moves from killing them, while it could cripple them at their knees and elbows. The helmets protected their heads from the same. But they skimped on protecting their faces and upper legs, as proven when Bruno used his hand to break the thigh of a Peon before putting a palm-strike to his chin, breaking the jaw and knocking the helmet off. Bruno followed through by snapping his neck.

"Orre breeds the easily indoctrinated." the Fighting master said as Lorelei broke the neck of another one using a silk-covered steel wire, using his body as a shield as she fired at them with her pistol, rounds plinking off the armor of the Peons.

"Lance, I could use a hand here!" she yelled before a massive bang nearly blew out their eardrums. One of the Peon's had a massive hole in his helmet, falling back with the back of his helmet suffering a MASSIVE dent.

The Peon beside him was shocked enough to pause before he too took a round to the head, the helmet having another hole punched through it.

Bruno and Lorelei looked behind them, seeing a blue-haired young woman with a massive revolver in her hands, modified with a stock to keep it from flying out of her hands.

"I believe someone once said…" Erika said as she fired again, this time aiming for some poor Peon's crotch. "Walk softly and carry a big fucking gun."

Lance looked at the massive weapon in Erika's admittedly dainty hands before she fired, the insane recoil forcing her a bit back as the Peon was hit in the one place no man wants to get hit. "Why do you have a ridiculously large Unovan revolver?" he asked as the poor Peon went into shock, the sheer amount of pain being too much for him to handle.

"Because I had to learn my cousin was rescued from Team Plasma AFTER I started cleaning up my act." Erika snapped, almost falling victim to her condition before she was affected by an Exeggcute using confusion on her to force her awake. "Where is your cousin?"

"OH SWEET YVELTAL, NO!" cried a squad down a hallway. There was a 'thump', followed by an explosion and a great deal of screaming.

"Never mind. I was hoping to see her before all this was over," she said, her smile being less then wholesome.

"It's always the quiet ones…" Gaffery muttered before his Natu pointed at a Peon that was still half-alive. The old man put a round in his head. "I fucking hate Cipher."

* * *

**Elsewhere on the Plateau**

* * *

A team of Cipher Peons were making their way towards the local Pernon Group office. The industrial powerhouse had plenty of advanced tech, which Cipher wanted to get its hands on.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't get the chance.

A missile landed in the middle of the team, and took them all out in a massive explosion.

A short distance away, the launching rack for said missile folded back into a MASSIVE left arm, part of a huge, cobalt blue mechanical titan.

The right arm opened up, revealing a 27mm cannon barrel as it pointed at a Shadow Blastoise, and fired.

"_Well, you got the 'carry a big fucking gun' part right,_" Rin quipped over the radio as the Shadow water-type collapsed, the only reason it wasn't dead being the fact they were walking tanks. "_The Elite Four have them contained at the stadium, but there's so many of the bastards that the spectators are forced to fight, too. And guess who Miror B is after?_"

"Ketchum," Kyril replied from inside the titan - which was a heavy combat add-on for his Marauder Armor specifically designed to deal with Evolved Shadow Pokemon. He wasn't sure if it could handle pseudo-legendaries, or even proper legendaries, but it would put up a significant fight. "Why isn't he DEAD yet?"

"_Who, Mirror B or Ketchum?_" his aide asked.

"Both. Ketchum's up against Miror B, who, insane or not, is a match for the basic suit." he replied, the Blastoise groaning in pain as it tried to breathe. Hard to do when your ribcage is shattered and diaphragm punctured. "And Miror B was around 90 years ago, during Cipher's golden age. He should be in a nursing home eating mashed prunes, not kick-boxing."

"_You know what happens when Chansey get pushed to their healing limits,_" she replied, scowling.

"True enough," Kyril replied. "Think you could give Ketchum some long-ranged support? I doubt I'll be able to get there quickly, given how widespread the attack is." Meanwhile, Rin's armor was designed as a support suit, so she had plenty of long-range combat options, including several hardpoints for sniper rifles. Get her in a centralized point, she could provide either fire support or area denial for at least 5 kilometers.

"_He's in the building: I'd have to get the railgun to deal with him and… well, I am not paying for the damage THAT would cause,_" she said, chuckling nervously.

Seeing as that would hack through the building and probably kill everyone inside… bad idea.

"We're gonna have to rely on him to save himself," Pernon was forced to admit. Then again, he survived everything Team Rocket threw at him.

He could survive this.

* * *

**Indigo Coliseum - Level 8 - 1159 Hours Local time**

* * *

Another round hit the wall Ash ducked behind, Mirror B trying VERY hard to close the gap.

"Ya can't hid foreva!" Miror B yelled as he fired again, the second shot being a click as he ran out. "Damn, why can't they gimme something that big bang I love and with more bullets?!"

"Maybe you should get rid of that thing!" Ash retorted, really sick of being shot at as he tried to make it back to the stands. Charizard, Pikachu or someone would deal with Miror B and he could relax, maybe even salvage this conference.

He actually wanted to FINISH his first League. Sue him.

As he ran back out to where the Colosseum was… Ash was… admittedly not expecting the sight he was witnessing.

The Jaws theme blaring in stereo, as a proverbial army of Gibles, Gabites and Garchomps - lead by his own Garchomp - assaulting the Peon's from below. All while it seemed his own Pokemon were… quite frankly, dominating the battlefield.

All was not good news, though, as he saw the crumpled form of Serena, her left arm a sickening red and purple with two massive tooth marks in them, a sprawled out Arbok giving him hints as to who bit her.

"Sev." '_So, you're the boy we're watching over?_' Ash jumped when he heard the voice of a snake he hadn't heard since the end of his journey in Sinnoh, a large black, yellow and purple viper with massive fangs. Jessie's Seviper.

'..._When did she get-never mind, not important_.' Ash thought. "That Arbok your trainer's?" he asked.

"Viper." '_Nope_.' he said, turning his head towards another Arbok coiling around and trying to poison a Shadow Tropius. "Seviper." '_He evolved a couple days ago. About time_.'

A bullet narrowly missed Ash's shoulder, making him duck behind a mass of ruined chairs, Miror B running out of the stairwell. "DAMn, boy, do you move!" the afro-man declared, seemingly out of breath. "Time's up!"

Suddenly something landed in front of Miror B, throwing up debris and dust. Out of the smoke rose a tall, winged, _very _angry red figure.

Miror blanched. "Oh _fuck._"

Charizard roared, letting loose a Flamethrower that threatened to roast the afro man alive. Miror dove back down the way he came, narrowly missing the wave of flame, though Ash did catch a glimpse of his afro catching some flames.

"Shitshitshit!" Miror shouted, tumbling back down the stairs. He collapsed at the bottom and struggled to get back up.

Then the sun was eclipsed as the Flame Pokemon reared in the doorway.

"CHAR!" '_AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!' _The enraged starter roared as he charged a Flame Burst in his mouth.

"FUCK!" The Cipher Admin swore, scrambling to his feet.

Charizard fired and was briefly backlit by fire as the move exploded in the stairwell.

Ash numbly stared as Charizard seemingly killed the Cipher disco man, but returned his attention to Serena, who looked very, very sick.

"Vip." '_Jessie's mate is getting the anti-venom_.' Seviper said, trying to allay Ash's worries.

"They are going to _pay_ for this." Ash growled, looking around and seeing the bodies of those that weren't able to get out in time, shot, burned or worse.

He saw Iris, her wool sweater caked with blood a few hundred feet away, blood running down her forehead, her Axew and his Dratini protecting her from anyone that got close to her, as an Excadrill, her VERY pissed off and very recently evolved Excadrill, went on a rampage.

Misty was passed out on a set of stairs, not moving at all, her Starmie and Psyduck struggling to keep all the Shadow Pokemon away.

Anabel… he couldn't even SEE Anabel.

"Natu." '_She's fine._' Ash looked up to see Anabel's male Natu on his head, not nesting on his hat, only to give a message to him. "Tu." '_We teleported her to the safest place we could find. Kyoji and your weird spawn are inside with the army of land sharks._'

Ash looked at the Gibles attacking Cipher's forces. "I… didn't think there would be that many Gibles." he said. "I never saw them in Kanto or Johto."

"Natu." '_They live pretty far underground. Most humans don't go down that deep_.' the bird explained. "Natu." '_They use the deeper parts of Diglett tunnels to make their homes. Trainers have to go to the only places they like to live nearer the surface to get them. And there aren't a lot of geothermal caves in Kanto or Johto._'

Ash looked up to see that a blimp was gone and another almost completely engulfed in flames and falling. As he watched, Moltres made another pass, ripping into the underside. A pair of explosions erupted from the manned compartment and the blimp started falling faster. Moltres screeched as gunfire pelted his side from the other airship, which was starting to move away.

A high pitched scream drew Ash's attention back to the ground as what he, Kyoji and just about everyone were calling the Gible theme intensified. A squad of Peons was being swarmed by a school of Gibles, who were gnawing at their armor and were not discriminate in what they tore off their bodies.

"Fall back!" a red-armored Peon yelled. "Get to higher ground: Admin Lovrina's ordered a general retreat!"

The burning airship was still flying, Cipher water-types putting out the flames, Moltres backing off, content to let them go.

"CAT!" '_KILL_!' yelled a Pokemon as it tried to jump at Ash, a purple and white cat roaring as it rushed at the Pallet Town trainer.

* * *

**Level 27 - same time**

* * *

"Lance, we're running out of ammo and those assholes are guarding the armory." Lorelei said as they peeked around a corner, seeing two Peons trying to set explosives on the armory door while five others stood guard.

"They're trying to take us down with them." Gaffery said, seeing that the amount of bombs strapped to the door was… excessive. "They're dead and they know it."

"It's almost as if their attack was very poorly planned…" Lance muttered, glancing between them. "So… ideas?"

"Well, there's that explosive launcher of yours…" Lorelei said to Gaffery, who shook his head.

"Too risky. We risk setting off the detonator and there goes five stories of the building AND us." the old man replied.

"Grenades?" Blaine asked before he thought better of it and shook his head. "No, they're in that armory. We need to up the security around here."

"Security was as good as it could get." Lance said. Cynthia glaring at the ceiling, unhappy that it was so low, otherwise she could unleash Garchomp and be done with it. But Garchomp were usually twice the height of a normal human, so… "They probably snuck in a few sleeper agents just to screw with us. Damn zealots."

The Peons looked down another adjoining corridor, raising their weapons before a VERY familiar gun report rang off. Most of the bullets pinged off their armor, but a few found a nice new home in the more exposed areas.

"…who the hell…?" Lance muttered, before a red-headed figure slammed a heavy metal ballistic shield against one of the Peons - unloading a M712 into another and roundhouse kicked a third. "…oh. Her…"

The red hair was enough to identify her, given she wasn't wearing her old Rocket Admin uniform. "Heard you needed help." said Ariana, reloading her Rocket-issue weapon.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Erika demanded, looking at her sidearm. "Let alone _armed_?"

Ariana pulled the bolt back to finish loading the weapon. "I might have surrendered, but I have my ways of getting my things back." she said, chuckling briefly before getting serious. "In all honesty, you need my help. There's a small army of Gibles outside dealing with the Peons that they left behind."

"They left?" Gaffery asked, even as Bruno removed the charges from the door. "That makes no sense."

"It's Cipher: you honestly think that death cult makes _any_ sense?" the red-headed ex-admin replied.

"True." the old man admitted. Cipher made no sense a lot of the time back during the war. "Any objections to putting these madmen down?"

Lance scoffed. "Leave at least one of the ones with a bigger hat alive." the champion ordered. "I want to know what we're dealing with and Sabrina can rip it from his head. Speaking of which, where IS she?"

Moments after asking, there was a loud, terrified scream that seemed to come from a few floors below. "Ah… that's probably her." He nodded.

"Psychics, man…" Erika muttered.

"Half the reason why the Team didn't attack Silph until she was out of action…" Ariana muttered before picking up the discarded tactical shield. "Well, might as well get to work. You all need a new Elite Four Member for Johto, yes?"

"You're not serious-" Lorelei started, incredulous that this Rocket wetch would suggest it.

"I am. The Team is dead. The Boss is not coming back and whatever Patel has is no match for your rampaging reunification machine." the former admin said. "And really, you need all the help you can get."

* * *

**Indigo Colosseum stands - 1218 hours local time**

* * *

A Pokeball bounced off the skull of the Delcatty, transforming it into energy and sucking it in, catching the Shadow Pokemon.

"Remind me… never to do that again." Ash panted, his shirt and jacket in ruins after the Delcatty decided he was the biggest threat.

"Ash… Ash!" Ash glanced around, spotting Kyoji as he ran up towards him. "Holy shit, are you alright dude?!"

Ash nodded. "I'll be fine." he said, even as he looked at the cuts. Most of them were shallow, but that thing wanted to rip his throat out. "I'll need a new shirt, though."

"And a new jacket… and new pants…" Kyoji said before looking up, seeing something on the horizon. "… Other than Yveltal, are there any pitch black flying types?"

Ash looked where he was looking, seeing a black speck coming closer and closer. It wasn't a legendary though.

"That's my mom." he said.

"Your mom's a-oh, right. One of her Pokemon." the shinobi said before the massive bird circled overhead, Delia Ketchum glaring at the surviving Cipher Peons that the Gibles hadn't dealt with, who promptly threw down whatever weapons they had and raised their hands in surrender.

"Uh… that one I don't know." Kyoji said as he looked at the armored bird.

"Corviknight. He's from Galar," Ash said before more Pokemon and people were teleported in. He recognized Bugsy and Falkner, so he guessed all the Johto Gym Leaders were there, too.

The Ranseian, though, just kept looking at the bird. "…I want one." he finally said.

"Go to Galar then," Ash shrugged. "It's the only place that has them, as far as I know."

At least this battle was over.

* * *

**Cipher airship **_**Pyrite's Shine**_ **\- nearing the summit of Mount Silver - 1229 hours local time**

* * *

The rigid airship's escape route was to take them north, circle Mount Silver's peak and then turn south-southwest towards the Sea of Gyarados… and return to Orre.

"This was a fuckin' disaster!" Miror B said, covered in gel to get rid of the burns that Charizard gave him. A Peon had 'kindly' used an Abra to teleport him to the ship. "The ship's screwed, the attack was screwed, we lost dozens of Peons! And I didn't get to dance to ma tune!"

"_Be _quiet_, Miror B_." said Nascour, Cipher's official leader over the vid-comm. "_The purpose of the attack was a statement. We are Cipher. We are legion. They couldn't kill us by turning our own tools against us. It only made us stronger_."

"Still, we… could have planned that attack better," Lovrina chimed in. "I mean… we came in with giant Zeppelins, not exactly stealthy… plus, in hindsight maybe attacking while _Moltres_ was perched above the stadium was a bad idea…"

The Moltres was excusable. They didn't see it until they were in visual range. But they should've turned around the second they saw it.

"_They needed to see that we lived. We had agents in the building. We could have decapitated Kanto's leaders at a stroke_!" Nascour snapped, the old man clearly not having all his marbles. "_We will have to try again later_."

"There won't BE a later!" Lovrina said. "They all hate us and want any excuse to destroy Orre! They'll invade!"

"One _region might_." Nascour replied. "_Nihon is fractured, broken. Lance will never get the resources for an invasion to occupy the homeland_."

"If it were just Lance, perhaps…" Lovrina muttered, "But there is one problem with that… Ash Ketchum. If anyone could unite the Nihon regions together against us… the crown prince of Rota would be that person."

"_Then he will die,_" Nascour stated. "_All who stand in the way of Orre's rise will burn_!"

Lovrina nodded… but didn't believe. She only spent time with people from Orre. Talking to even one person outside and getting their perspective… were Cipher in the right? They wanted to stop Cyrus.

Why didn't anyone see that if they wouldn't let Cipher in, they couldn't deal with the bigger threat?

* * *

**Viridian City - 1456 Hours Local Time - Day 112**

* * *

Numbers on a sheet. It was easier to process numbers on a sheet of paper. Lance read them all the time. Reports of dead Pokemon and trainers. Just… numbers.

It was harder to deal with those numbers when you put faces and names to them.

"Fifteen thousand attendees," Lance said. "Out of those 15000, 1303 died by burning, gunshot or Pokemon attack. 4351 were injured by the same. The rest… traumatized." Hard to put the shape of human suffering out of his mind.

"Cipher screwed the pooch. It could have been worse," Ariana said, looking at the reports with cold detachment. "They had agents in the building: we found dead guards and maintenance personnel that don't show signs of putting up a fight. That Moltres was half the reason Kanto isn't descending into pure chaos."

"And what's the other half?" Lorelei demanded, the other redhead shrugging.

"Who else? The Ketchum boy." the former Admin said. "He knew something would happen. I doubt he has any real reason to work with them, plus he's had zero contact out of… the incident at Pallet Town 8 years ago."

"Of course…" Lorelei sighed, shaking her head. "…what about the other Leagues? How bad is the fallout?"

"Not good." Bruno said. "Karen and Will have informed me that many of the Johto citystates are starting to question the authority of the fragile government."

"Hoenn is not pleased." Steven said, looking at a faxed paper. "I'm being flooded with demands from both the Elite Four _and _the Gym Leaders to do something before we're inundated with more Shadow nonsense. The citizens are _also _not pleased. The older ones want to put Orre to the torch. I'm trying to figure out a way to avoid drawing us into another war."

"You can forget it, at least from Sinnoh," Cynthia spat. "There was a vote: twelve-nothing. The second they heard about the attack, the top eight of my Gym Leaders and the Elite Four wanted me to convince you all to make that place deader than it already is."

Ariana cackled. "Great! So let's get started!" she said, grinning.

"It isn't that simple." Steven said, sighing. "Hoenn inherited most of the URN Navy. Sinnoh can easily put that equipment they have from the Army to work. But what about Johto and Kanto? They were most biased towards the Air Force. What little ground equipment they DO have is light-weight at best. Then there's the command structure: who would lead this coalition?"

It would be less of a problem if they were a single government again, but 60 years was enough for each region to start branching off with their own thing. Kanto was turning into a new hub for tech development, Johto was sliding back into traditionalist bullshit, Hoenn was trying to maintain a balance between land and sea and Sinnoh… well, Cynthia claimed they were 'almost as bad as Johto'.

With all those problems, they simply didn't have the coordination or the equipment for war. Sure they had the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and the Champions, but they were only so many. Gym Leaders had to defend their towns from Team threats and Shadow attacks, the Elites had to help run their countries, and the Champions were only half a dozen people. Each worth an army on their own, but six people could not take and hold a country.

There was also the problem of Cipher sleeper agents, troop deployments… the people had the will.

Their leaders simply lacked the _means_ to bring that will to fight to Orre's shores.

* * *

**Pallet Town - 1500 hours local time**

* * *

Ash looked at the girls laying in their own separate cots. All of them were in a coma as a result of the Cipher attack due to wounds inflicted on them by Shadow Pokemon or Cipher Peons.

If the Gibles hadn't dealt with them, he'd kill the ones responsible. That was his first reaction. That was before he calmed down.

Then he thought about the TRio. For seven years, SEVEN YEARS, they hounded him. Chased him from region to region to region. Because he didn't consider them a threat. A minor annoyance up until Unova and even then, they had just become a fact of life. Routine.

Cipher's attack could've worked. If it weren't for him being overly paranoid about something happening during his and Ritchie's match, it would have been MUCH worse. They could have died.

Ash did not want Cipher to become routine. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. This time, he would take the fight to them. But he had to make sure everyone was safe.

"Don't you fucking dare." Ash jumped a bit, as Kyoji stood behind him.

"Fuck, you're quiet…" Ash cursed.

"I may not dress in dark blue robes, but I _was _trained by Shinobi." Kyoji smirked - which dropped as he looked at him. "I repeat - don't you fucking dare."

"…I didn't even-"

"You're thinking this is all somehow your fault, that you got them in danger, and 'oh, if only I didn't invite them to this event where thousands of other people go to every single year'." He said, rolling his eyes. "And now, you're probably thinking of going on a nice, one-man crusade with no one but yourself and your Pokemon, and leave behind all of these girls… just because they _might _get hurt… correct me if I am wrong, but didn't we have this talk a few weeks ago?"

Ash stood up, not letting go of Misty's hand. "I wasn't thinking about that," he said. "I was thinking of a way to keep them safe. And I was thinking about Orre and Cipher. And how I don't want them to be… routine."

"Routine?" Kyoji said, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You know how the TRio's been following me for years?" Ash elaborated. "That they just kept coming after me, region after region?"

"Well yeah, but now they're out of a job and honestly, look like they're more willing to _help _you." Kyoji said, before he blinked. "…you're comparing Cipher to the TRio?"

"Am I wrong to?" Ash asked. "I didn't destroy their organization last time. I didn't do ANYTHING except maybe ruin an operation or two. I let them continue existing. And I got them on my ass for nearly seven years. I don't want Cipher to be the next Team Rocket."

"No, you're entirely right to want Cipher to get squashed like a bug," Kyoji nodded, "And so would a lot of the other Leagues and nations that are just fed-up with Cipher's bullshit… though with you, Team Rocket sounded more… _cartoonish _in your reality than it is here. I mean… you told me how they had all these absurd robots they'd send after you that had _literally _no function outside of capturing the 'new' pokemon of the day that you happened to encounter,"

Ash chuckled. "My point is… Miror B went straight after me." he said. "He homed in on me. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. So I'm going to Orre."

"Sweet. I'll pack up and-"

"I want you here to protect the girls." Ash said, making Kyoji glare at him. "Don't. I'm not pushing them away. I intend to come right back after I deal with them. But I need to know they're safe. And other then Janine, you're the only one I can trust to DO that!"

"…one problem with that, Ketchum," Kyoji sighed.

"That being?"

"You know for a damn good fact that the very second they know you've gone to Orre, they will track your ass down." Kyoji deadpanned. "And even if I had the military support of the entire army and navy of Ransei, I could not stop them from accomplishing that."

"And I know that. But they're going to need to recover from this." Ash said. "And I'd rather have them rested and in good health then one foot in the grave. I am asking you to let me be the diversion. I know they're after me: they sent an Admin after me! If I draw their attention to me, it'll give them time to recover. I just don't want some Cipher assassin killing them when they're after me."

Kyoji thought about it. "…You raise a good point." he finally admitted. "This is why I call you selfish and selfless: you want to keep them safe and make them happy because you like it that way. You know I can't stop them."

Ash nodded. "I know. But if they're coming after me… I want them recovered." he said, looking at Serena's Arbok bite mark, still purple from the venom. "You understand, right?"

"…I can't guarantee I can keep them down for long," Kyoji sighed. "…and if they kill me for trying to stop them, I swear to Arceus I will become a Ghost-type Pokemon and _haunt your ass._"

Ash chuckled. "Just long enough so they don't exhaust themselves into… well…" he trailed off, losing any trace of humor.

"Yeah… I got the idea." Kyoji said. "I'll slow them down. Can't make any more promises then that."

"That's all I need." Ash said as Pikachu woke up, who had been sleeping on Janine's lap.

"Pika?" '_Wha?_' he asked before yawning. "Pikapi?" '_What's going on?_'

"We're going to Orre." Ash said, picking up his starter. "I might not know where it is… but I think I know who knows."

He did save his ship, after all. He would find out tomorrow.

* * *

**Viridian City - Pernon Group building - 1125 hours local time - Day 112**

* * *

"And the League is requesting an update on when we can get their headquarters back up and operational." Rin said, looking at a report. "The Cipher strike's got them on edge."

"Them, us and everyone else on the planet." Kyril said. "Desert cockroaches. Nothing you have can kill them."

"Contrary to popular belief, a cockroach is just as easy to kill as a human when it comes to a nuke," Rin said, smirking. "They'll last a bit longer, but that's about it."

"Right," Kyril said with a nod. He paused in thought for a moment. "…The Shadow-Buster worked well for its intended purpose. Though I still don't know about just how much it can properly handle. And if we're going to be dealing with Cipher more frequently… I want to make a Shadow-Buster for you, as well. It'll still maintain your focus on ranged support, but I want to make sure you have an extra punch. Any weapons you want for it?"

A buzz interrupted them, making the Pernon head jump before they heard the receptionist speak through the intercom. "Sir… Ash Ketchum is here to see you." she said, almost bewildered.

"What in the hell is HE doing here?" Rin demanded.

"Send him in." Kyril said, giving Rin the 'hide everything' look. His girlfriend groaned before collecting the papers for the Marauder designs and stuffing them in a briefcase before Ash Ketchum walked through the door, wearing a red jacket akin to his old blue one, his Pikachu on his shoulder as always.

"Hello, Mr. Ketchum," Kyril greeted. "Or do you want me to call you Ash?"

"Ash is fine." Ash said. "I came here to ask a favor, Mr. Pernon."

"Call me Kyril," Kyril said. "So, what's the favor?"

"Well, you can help me by either putting me on a ship to Orre or showing my Pidgeot the way." Ash said. "I have a team to disband."

* * *

Entry 50: The Shadow Rebellion

It is unknown how it occurred, but the Shadow Rebellion is just that: the rebellion of Shadow Pokemon from Cipher control.

The end of the Cipher War coincided with the Rebellion, where Shadow Pokemon, en masse, turned on their handlers, all at once. Unfortunately, by this time, the Battle of Ecruteak had happened, being a massive Cipher victory and without a central government, the ability to get rid of Shadow Pokemon was difficult, seeing as all purification methods, including those in the Ranger Union, Orre and any artificial means, had been destroyed by Cipher.

We all suffer from their arrogant assumption they would forever be in control, but history shows time after time the folly of man.

* * *

Entry 51: Post-War reconstruction

The Cipher War was exceedingly devastating, with many cities, especially in Johto, being burned to the ground, reconstruction took decades. Of the cities that entered the conflict, only Goldenrod, Valestone, Saffron and Celedon survived with any semblance of their past selves.

This became a point of contention in Johto, with all but Blackthorne City fighting for Goldenrod's resources prior to Professor Oak's unification and the Pernon Group taking over construction efforts.

Most settlements in Johto are highly traditional post war. It will take time to get them back to pre-war standards.

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: We are one chapter away from the end of this arc. Next as you might have gathered… is Orre.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah. Ash never visited Orre in the anime, but here? Well, he's wanting to take down Cipher big time, and what better way to do that than take the fight to them? Of course, he wants his girls to be safe… Not that that's going to stop them from following him.**

**117Jorn: Natu? If you would… *Natu psychically levitates drum sticks, creating a drum beat* **

**Ron the True Fan: …what's he doing?**

**117Jorn: Preparing the song. **

**Takeshi Yamato: What song?**

**117Jorn: Oh, the song that is the most appropriate for **_**Ironic**_ **reasons. *Takes a glass of apple cider* The best reasons! But first, a toast… to the answer to an age old question… *drops the glass* **

**Takeshi Yamato: …oh no, don't tell me-**

**117Jorn: *Glass Shatters* WAR! HUH YEAH! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! UUHHHH-AAAUUHHHUHHH!**

**Ron the True Fan: Why am I not surprised?**

**Ja Ne!**


	37. Chapter 36: To Orre

**Ron the True Fan: This is the end of the final journey, enemies leaving the-(WHACK!)**

**Takeshi Yamato: Enough, Ron. Anyway, this is the last chapter of the first arc of _Shadow of Time_. Things are gonna get nasty after this one.**

* * *

**Pernon Group office - Viridian City - 1126 hours local time - Day 112 of Ash Ketchum's Journey**

* * *

Ash Ketchum looked at the expressions on the faces of Pernon and his… assistant? …as they processed his request.

"Pika." '_They look like you're asking them to help kill yourself._' Pikachu quipped.

"You are INSANE." the woman said. "It's bad enough you want to go to the least-habitable region on the planet, but Cipher is back!"

"That's the point. I _want _to deal with them." Ash said, eyes fixed on the owner of the _Olympic_. "They went after me. I'm not the type to take this sort of thing seriously most of the time, but if they aren't stopped… they're going to go after everyone I care about."

The woman groaned. "Look, kid, just wait for the League to do something about it." she retorted. "The news is pissing everyone off: no one wants a repeat of the Cipher War."

"I can understand you wanting to deal with them on your own," Kyril added. "But seriously, Ash, leave this to the pros."

"You're not stopping me," Ash stated. "I might not know how to exactly read a map, but my Pidgeot does. I am going to Orre and I _am _putting this organization down. No one is going to stop me."

"You're mad," the assistant said. "You want to willingly go to the worst region on the planet, including the Ranger Union?"

"Pika." '_We've dealt with worse,_' Pikachu said, shrugging, even though they couldn't understand him.

"And I'm asking you for help getting there," Ash said. "You want them gone. I want them gone. And I'm the best person to deal with them."

Kyril looked at him, taking his best measure of Ash… and nodded. "Alright, Ash. I'll help you," he said. "But you're not going alone." He stood. "Let's take a walk, shall we?"

The assistant looked startled. "You're really going to-"

"He reminds me of myself after _that_ happened," Kyril replied. "And if he's going, he needs all the backup he can get."

Kyril led the way into an elevator. "Several years ago, I was attacked by Team Rocket," he began. "They wanted me to build weapons for them. Obviously, that wasn't going to happen. I managed to get free of their clutches, but I knew they'd keep coming for me. Them and likely some of the other Teams. All of whom are blights on society." The elevator doors closed, and it began to descend.

"You don't know the half of it." Ash muttered.

"Pikapi." '_Ash, you don't want to tell him that_.' Pikachu said.

"So I decided to take the fight to them." Windows in the sides of the elevator, which were originally just showing the walls of the shaft, suddenly revealed a massive underground complex, as the elevator kept descending.

"Do I have to worry that you're like Lysandre?" Ash asked.

"The Kalosian businessman? What's wrong with him?" Pernon asked.

"He's the leader of Team Flare." Ash deadpanned, much to Pikachu's horror. "Don't ask me how I know. I just do."

Kyril frowned. "OK, then, thanks for that. No one's been able to determine who Team Flare's boss is. Won't be easy to expose him, but now I know what to look into. But no, I'm not in this for world domination. Or for any other conceited goal like that. I just want to take the Teams down, and take them down hard. But, as I have never had any interest in being a Pokemon trainer, I had to turn to other methods."

Ash scoffed. There was no other method. Not unless you wanted to kill people and Ash disapproved of killing unless there was no literal choice. Hunter J, maybe, if she was thrown in a cell where no one would go. Cyrus REALLY needed to die. A universe or one man. He'd take the universe.

The elevator stopped, the doors opening to reveal a white sterile lab area, filled with people working on things Ash couldn't recognize. Except for the primitive electronic parts that were going into what looked like a missile on one table.

"You use your suits to kill people." Ash all but spat. "Tried using Pokemon? They actually let their victims survive so they can go to the courts."

"Never really had the knack for training Pokemon," Kyril replied. "What I have is a mind for technology. And while making the Teams face the courts is a noble goal, there are times when criminals just won't let themselves be caught. Or they'll find a way to get the courts to release them. And that's what Marauder is for - to destroy the infrastructure of the Teams, and to ensure that those who can't be caught at least aren't able to harm anyone else." He led Ash up to a display. It was a very crude suit of powered armor, but Ash could clearly see the hardpoints built into it. "This was my first practical model. The only way to really improve something like this is to build a new one learning lessons from the older models. I still keep this one around, though. As a reminder of how it began."

"I'm sorry, you moonlight around as some vigilante?" Ash asked, Pikachu rolling his eyes. They both had… mild experience with that. And they didn't exactly approve of them dressing up in tights.

"How can you not KNOW about the Marauder?" Kyril demanded. "He's infamous!"

"Doesn't involve Pokemon or Pokemon training." Ash said with a shrug. He had a fixation, but he focused on what worked. "If it doesn't involve one of those or allowing me to keep going as a trainer, I'm usually not interested in it." It also kept him from learning the fine arts of romance as a bonus. The better to drive the girls into the friend-zone.

Kyril groaned. "Great, tunnel vision," he muttered. "Well, I can understand it, I guess. I can tunnel vision a bit working on designs for my armors." He shook his head, before looking at Ash. "Anyway, you want to take down Cipher? You're going to need backup - and I can provide backup with Marauder. You may not like lethal firepower, but Cipher's going to need it. They're not just going to sit down if you beat them and let you arrest them. Maybe a few will, but they'll be in the extreme minority."

Ash sighed. He knew that. But he'd like it that way.

"I want them to face the people they hurt," Ash said. "I want them to give Cipher their justice."

"Yeah, that I get." Pernon said. "But you might not get that chance. You want to get to Orre, that's the best you'll get."

"Pika." '_Take it. You want to knock Cipher out, that's our ticket._' Pikachu said.

Ash sighed. "Fine. I'll do it," he said.

* * *

**Meanwhile, Viridian City Hospital**

* * *

Sabrina walked towards Kyoji's room, knocking at the door. "Kyoji? You up?"

"It's… unlocked." He said, as Sabrina blinked at the tone of his voice. It sounded… depressed actually. She opened the door, finding Kyoji at the table, with some sort of portable computer set up. His face currently held in his hand.

"Is… everything alright?" Sabrina asked, she could sense emotions - but didn't want to dig into them right now. But she could tell something… wasn't right.

"No… not really," Kyoji shook his head. "I… got a message back from home, first one they sent in a while after all the reports I've been giving them… my last report detailed the whole… Cipher situation."

"…and?" Sabrina asked.

"…they're recalling me." Kyoji stated, "They… want me to come back for a full debriefing…"

Sabrina blinked at that "Isn't that… good?" She asked. "It… means that they might be ready to help or something?"

"I wasn't supposed to _get _a message back from the computer," Kyoji said, "It's a breach of protocol, since a message sent _by _them could risk Ransei being discovered by the natives… we had a system of dead drop locations to receive responses from… this line came _directly _from High Command… if they're messaging me, and other Recon teams to RTB… something is very, _very _wrong."

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two as that news settled. "So… when are you leaving?"

"…I need to secure my own transport, so soon…" Kyoji sighed.

Sabrina pursed her lips. "So… am I going to see you again?" she asked.

"Huh-Why would you ask that?" Kyoji asked, chuckling nervously.

"You're being recalled by your high command. That means one of two things." Sabrina said as she walked over. "Either they want you to report to them personally… or Ransei is preparing for war. I just want to be sure you're not marching off to your death." She then held his hand. "You're the only one that isn't terrified of me or I consider family. I don't want to lose you."

"…I don't wanna lose you either…" Kyoji sighed, holding her hand in turn. "…I promised Ash to stay here with the girls, I want to stay here with you, but… I can't say no to this… we _need _Ransei's help if we're going to take on Cipher… But I…" He paused, unable to say it… but he didn't need to say it outloud.

'_I don't want to leave you behind…_'

"You won't," Sabrina said, smiling gently. "I'm going with you."

"What?! You're a gym leader-"

"A Gym Leader whose gym is closed and whose region isn't going to be hosting any conferences any time soon." Sabrina cut off. "Besides, you're going to need all the help you can get and… I want to see your homeland."

Kyoji bit his lip a bit, before he sighed "Well… I know better than to argue with you on that…" He chuckled dryly.

"Well…" Sabrina said. "I'll pack my bags."

* * *

**Viridian City - City Hall - 1327 hours local time**

* * *

In lieu of the secure Indigo Coliseum, Viridian City Hall was the next best place for the leaders of the former URN Leagues to meet.

The discussion, of course, was trying to find a way to deal with the Cipher problem without either collapsing what was left of their governments or leaving them open to attack.

Lance was having a headache just keeping everything straight.

"Transporting the armored vehicles would require cargo ships, military escorts-" Cynthia started before Steven cut her off.

"Hoenn is already stretched thin preventing Team Aqua from gaining anything but a token foothold; we can't spare anything from our patrols." he said. "Unless you _want _them to find some way of waking up and empowering Kyogre? Or Team Magma doing the same for Groudon?"

"They were at New Island." Lance reminded them.

"So was Rayquaza! That dragon keeps them in line when they're awake!" Steven snapped. "And the last thing we need is them doing something stupid!"

They all had their problems. Only Kanto was in any state to do anything and they lacked the materiel to do so _and_ they had to make up for Johto, which, according to reports, still had a branch of Team Rocket there.

In short, while public opinion was for dealing with Orre's death cult, their rag-tag military was anything but. It would take something drastic to make them actually deal with Orre while leaving their regions virtually unprotected.

Then they heard a loud screech from outside. A bird Pokemon call. Specifically, Pidgeot.

Lorelei looked outside, seeing the bird in question. "Oh, fuck." she cursed.

"What is it?" asked Glacia of the Hoenn Elite Four, having flown over to discuss the situation before she would head back and continue keeping Team Magma's operations as ineffective as possible.

"It's Illine." Lorelei said as the bird, a Shiny Pidgeot no less, landed, fit with a saddle of sorts to allow the rider to sit comfortably and not impede movement of the wings, with Duchess Illine, Stewardess of Rota and Regent Viceroy in lieu of the King, climbing off, retrieving a ceremonial copy of Sir Arron's staff - the real one wasn't supposed to leave the country unless in the hands of the crowned royal and referring to him as 'king' was considered a faux-paux unless it was in a history lesson, given the man's legendary humility - as she stepped off the shiny and onto the balcony.

Lorelei opened the door to the balcony, allowing Illine to simply walk in. "Duchess. We weren't expecting you." she said.

"Spare me the formality, Kanna," Illine retorted. "I came here for a reason."

"And how did you even know we were here?" Lance asked, knowing the answer already.

"Please. You shared the fact that this is your backup meeting location with my father." the Duchess replied hotly. "And I want to know what your response is to this… incident."

Cynthia barked out a laugh. "What response?" she demanded. "There's nothing we can do without risking our local teams from getting anything more than a tentative hold in our regions. My Gym Leaders and Elite Four are having a hard enough time making sure Team Galactic is kept away from any museums or storehouses that I know they have an interest in! And all of our regions are in the same boat!"

Illine was unimpressed. "The Crown Prince of my country was nearly killed during that attack. You may remember that while you might not be Rota's subjects anymore, you still have an obligation to defend a member of the royal family." the regent said. "There is a reason we were excited and relieved to know the line still existed."

Yes, they did. While the Empire of Nihon collapsed thousands of years ago, with Rota taking its place before declining after three thousand years, the URN had an obligation to defend Rota for one reason: the Tree of Beginning.

The royal family had a symbiotic bond with it, each royal having to go there to 'feed' the tree some of their Aura. It was theorized (and later confirmed) that if this was not done at least once a century, the tree would slowly begin to die. And the roots of the massive thing stretched from the most northern point of Sinnoh to the Decolour Islands between Johto and Unova. And that was just the ones they could confirm: it was likely the damn thing's roots went all over the world and was responsible for maintaining the balance in nature, despite everything humans had done.

And if the tree died… they doubted Arceus would fix everything. The Creator was incredibly hands-off.

"We KNOW." Lance said. "But we can't do anything without risking the safety of everyone in the former URN."

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this," she replied, sighing as she paced around the table. "The Parliament has met and came to a decision for you. I have sadly been elected as messenger."

"Rota doesn't decide anything for us, Duchess," Steven replied.

"It does when it comes to the Shadow Pokemon containment." Illine said, much to the Stone Corporation CEO/Hoenn Champion's confusion. "We have close ties to the Lucario Kingdom in Sinnoh. You know this. You also know that they are literally the only reason the plague isn't as bad as it could be."

Bruno was the first to realize what she was saying. "You would not dare. You can't!" he said.

"I don't have a choice," Illine said. "If you don't deal with Cipher once and for all… I will be forced to request that the Lucario Kingdom bring ALL of their kind back to their homeland and Rota. You will be forced to deal with the Shadow Pokemon on your own."

"If we do what you propose, we leave our own leagues vulnerable to groups like Magma, Aqua, Rocket and who knows what else!" Exclaimed Cynthia. "And now you threaten to take away the one Pokemon that can fight Shadow's one-on-one with ease?! Do you _WANT _the world to burn?!"

"I'm not the one making the threat. I'm just the messenger." Illine snapped. "The question is, are you willing to let one of the few people that can keep the planet from turning into an uninhabitable cesspool? The clock is ticking and you all know it. If Ash doesn't share Aura with the tree within five years, we're all dead anyways and his sister can't even channel Aura."

"And how would you-"

"Two weeks ago, Delia and Belladonna visited Rota," she said. "The staff barely reacted to her. If Ash dies, we're all _dead_."

She had them over a barrel and they knew it.

Then the old phone at the center of the table began beeping, showing someone was calling.

That got everyone's attention. Lance reached over, and out of intuition, stuck it on speaker. "Lance."

The voice replying was a league official from Vermillion. "_Um, sir, the _Hulbury _just departed from the docks at Vermillion. Ash Ketchum was aboard. …Guess where they're heading, sir._"

Lance just groaned. As if things weren't complicated enough… "Orre?" he asked, weakly.

"_Yes, sir,_" the official replied. "_There's more. Lieutenant Surge and his entire complement of Gym Trainers and Pokemon boarded the ship before it set sail, too._"

Lance's head hit the table. Now everything was going to go to hell.

"You don't have much of a choice now, do you?" Illine asked.

They were going to regret this. "No… I suppose we don't," said Steven. They had a war to plan.

* * *

**Cargo container ship **_**Hulbury**_**, en route to Gateon Port, Orre - 1400 hours local time**

* * *

The _Hulbury _was a simple bulk ore cargo freighter: no real luxuries. But it was perfect because Orre's only real exports were… well… ore and death.

Who would suspect a small invasion force in such an unassuming package?

"Magneton." '_Statement: I so look forward to the death of all the Cipher Peons._' said the freaky ass Magneton as it hovered past Gligar, whom Ash brought along for three reasons: training the 'loner' nonsense out of him, getting him ready for Johto and getting ready to evolve back to Glisor.

"Gar." '…_that thing freaks me out. It's RED,_' the bat said as the triple Magnemite flew past.

"I know. But we didn't exactly stop him," Ash said as Surge lead his trainers in conditioning exercises. Their Pokemon were on one of the cargo hatches, Riolu training against a group of steel-types, Charizard and Goodra were boxing of all things, Totodile and Oshawott were having a water fight in a cargo net in the waters below, the net serving as a ring and a way to keep things like Sharpedo from… well, eating them…

Kyril and Rin were below-decks with a team of Pernon Group technicians, making sure that the Marauder and Defender armors were in peak condition. Ash didn't know what to think about Kyril's assistant having her own armor, but at least the suits weren't the spandex he was originally thinking, and were distinct compared to the Cipher uniforms. Though Kyril's 'Shadow-Buster' add-on made him think of the TRio's many various mecha, only _much _more competently built.

He still thought Charizard or Pikachu could destroy them though, as he looked at the sun setting off the starboard bow.

"Pika." '_What's up?_' Pikachu asked, looking where Ash was looking.

"Just an old song." Ash said. "Colors weaving into a spire of flame. That's what the sun's reminding me of."

The sun was setting on an era. The Age of Shadow was over.

The time of rebirth had come.

* * *

**Pokemon: Shadow of Time - Kanto Arc: Complete**

* * *

**Ron the True Fan: Three years in the making, months of debate, conversations, delays and real life stupidity. And to think… this is only ONE arc out of potentially five or more.**

**117Jorn: It's about freaking time…**

**Ron the True Fan: A running gag among us: we never finish a fic. …this is a fic and it is most CERTAINLY finished.**

**Takeshi Yamato: True enough. Now… *clears throat* Colors weave into a spire of flame~. Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed~.**

**Ron the True Fan: Lifelight works. Now, if you'll excuse us… Jorn wants to get started on a side-fic. Something I honestly thought we'd never do with this…**

**Redemption's Avenger: We thank you for finishing this story. **_**Shadow of Time **_**will be back… whenever we get done with the next arc Idontknow…**

**Ja Ne!**


End file.
